Contamination of Cerebrospinal Fluid with Bone-Marrow Cells during Lumbar Puncture

To the Editor: The report by Kruskall et al. (March 24 issue) 1 documents the occurrence of bone-marrow contamination of cere-brospinal fluid obtained from adults by routine lumbar puncture and notes that bone-marrow contamination has occasionally led to an incorrect diagnosis. We have recently encountered a similar situation in an infant. A 17-day-old infant presented with a one-day history of nasal congestion, mild cough, and fever to 101°F (38.3°C). His physical examination was normal except for mild nasal congestion. His hemoglobin was 16 g per deciliter, the white-cell count was 12,200 per square meter of body-surface area, with 37 per cent . . . No extract is available for articles shorter than 400 words.