Identification of cytomegalovirus in bone marrow biopsy.

The bone marrow trephine biopsy has become a common procedure for evaluating hematopoietic abnormalities. Occasionally, the first clue to an infectious process is obtained from this source. A bone marrow biopsy, done to evaluate pancytopenia in a patient who had received a renal transplant, revealed large intranuclear inclusions diagnostic of cytomegalovirus. Antibody titers were initially negative but rose over the next few weeks to confirm the diagnosis. Even though the bone marrow biopsy may not be the best site for finding CMV inclusions, the careful examination of a random bone marrow biopsy, particularly in an immunosuppressed individual, may contribute to the diagnosis.