Dry Tap

Dry Tap

A needle biopsy of bone marrow, usually from the iliac crests, in which either blood without clot, or no material at all, is obtained
Aetiology Reticulum fibrosis, marrow necrosis or an extremely packed marrow. Dry taps occur in 5–10% of all bone marrow biopsies; 60+% of dry taps are malignant, most are lymphoproliferative disorders—e.g., hairy cell leukaemia, AML, myelofibrosis, and lymphoma, and, less commonly, myeloma, metastatic cancer and melanoma; benign disease—e.g., iron deficiency anaemia, marrow hypoplasia, haemosiderosis, granulomas, pernicious anaemia—accounts for the other dry taps

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dry tap

True dry tap Hematology A needle biopsy of BM, usually from the iliac crests, in which either blood without clot, or no material at all, is obtained Etiology Reticulum fibrosis, marrow necrosis or an extremely packed marrow, DTs occur in 5-10% of all BM biopsies; 60+% of DTs are malignant, most are lymphoproliferative disorders–eg hairy cell leukemia, AML, myelofibrosis, lymphoma, myeloma, metastatic CA; benign disease–eg iron deficiency anemia, marrow hypoplasia, hemosiderosis, granulomas, pernicious anemia, accounts for the remaining DTs