Analysis of misdiagnosis of myelodysplastic syndrome by bone marrow smears

Objective: To analyze the causes of misdiagnosis of myelodysplastic syndrome(MDS) by bone marrow smears.Methods: Forty-seven patients with MDS misdiagnosed by bone marrow smears from February 1992 to December 2003 were analyzed retrospectively.Results: The misdiagnosis rate of refractory anemia(RA) reached 89.3%.The major misdiagnosed diseases were proliferous anemia(PA),chronic aplastic anemia(CAA),megaloblastic anemia(MA) and acute leukemia(AL).Conclusions: The diagnosis of MDS is relative difficult and correct diagnosis can be made by means of analysis of the patients' medical history,bone marrow biopsy and cytogenetics.