Adequate at rapid on‐site evaluation (ROSE), but inadequate on final cytologic diagnosis: Analysis of 606 cases of endobronchial ultrasound‐guided trans bronchial needle aspirations (EBUS‐TBNA)

Background

EBUS‐TBNA is a minimally invasive, reliable technique with high sensitivity and accuracy. ROSE plays a crucial role in triaging specimens to guide management. This study analyzes aspirates that were deemed "adequate" on ROSE, but inconclusive upon final cytologic interpretation.

Design

EBUS‐TBNAs from 2015 and 2016 were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed for ROSE adequacy versus final cytologic diagnosis. Concurrent and subsequent procedures were evaluated to determine the outcome of ROSE‐adequate cases with inconclusive final cytologic diagnosis of non‐diagnostic (ND), atypical (ATY), and suspicious for malignancy (SUS). Interpretation at ROSE was determined to be "appropriate" if published criteria for lymph node adequacy were met.

Results

A total of 606 cases of EBUS‐FNA with ROSE were obtained of which 61% were deemed adequate. 5% of cases deemed "adequate" at ROSE resulted in inconclusive final interpretation with 4 ND, 7 ATY, and 6 SUS. Their distribution, anatomic location, presence or absence of diagnostic aspirate, appropriateness of ROSE adequacy statement, and any concurrent or subsequent procedures on the same or different site as well as any impact on management was reviewed. Cytotechnologist (CT) experience ranged from 1 to 25 years.

Conclusions

ROSE and final cytology discrepant cases formed a very small fraction of total number of EBUS‐TBNA cases with onsite evaluation. None of these discordant cases had any major clinical impact. There will remain a small fraction of cases that will be inappropriately deemed as "adequate" at ROSE due to the challenging nature of the procedure.

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