Efficacy of rapid on-site cytological evaluation (ROSE) by a pulmonologist in determining specimen adequacy and diagnostic accuracy in interventional diagnosis of lung lesions

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of rapid on-site cytological evaluation (ROSE) in determining specimen adequacy and diagnostic accuracy in the interventional diagnosis of lung lesions. METHODS: This retrospective study included 127 consecutive cases of lung lesions, which were sampled by bronchoscopy or transthoracic fine needle aspiration, and diagnosed on ROSE followed by histopathology. ROSE was performed by a trained pulmonologist and the diagnosis of ROSE was compared with the final diagnosis. RESULTS: The sensitivity of ROSE in determining adequacy of specimens was 97.5% and specificity in determining inadequacy was 85.7%. The diagnostic efficacy of ROSE for assessing malignancy (sensitivity of 94.5% and specificity of 100%) and non-malignancy (sensitivity of 97.8% and specificity of 100%) was excellent. The sensitivity of ROSE for diagnosing small cell carcinoma (100%) was highest, followed by adenocarcinoma (89.2%) and squamous cell carcinoma (75.0%). Performance of ROSE by a trained pulmonologist also determined tuberculosis with a high diagnostic sensitivity (83.3%) and specificity (100%). CONCLUSIONS: A trained pulmonologist can reliably carry out ROSE to ensure the adequacy of the sample, distinguish between malignancy and non-malignancy, and make a preliminary diagnosis in a large number of cases.