Bone Marrow Biopsy with MEOPA Sedation

Eligible patients were aged 18 years and older with previously documented or suspected untreated malignant hemopathy with an indication for a bone marrow biopsy. An Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status between 0 and 2 and normal biological coagulation parameters were required. Clinical examination and bone pelvic imaging were performed before inclusion to exclude iliac lymphoma localization. The exclusion criteria were pregnancy, congenital or acquired coagulation deficit, thrombocytopenia less than 50,000/mm³, and use of certain drugs (fluindione, acenocoumarol, warfarin, dabigatran, apixaban, rivaroxaban, and analgesics for chronic pain). We also excluded patients for whom MEOPA was not recommended (intracranial hypertension, allergy, severe lung failure with oxygen therapy, emphysema, pneumothorax, recent history of air embolism, epilepsy, and vitamin B12 and B9 deficiencies) and those in whom 3-dimensional movies (pacemaker or defibrillator) were contraindicated.