Endobronchial Ultrasonography (EBUS) with Lymph Node Aspiration: On-site Evaluation and Final Pathology Correlation

Rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE) during endobronchial ultrasound (EBUS)-guided transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) may improve sample adequacy and expedite clinical decision-making; however, its impact on diagnostic performance and concordance with final pathology remains unclear.

We retrospectively analyzed consecutive adult patients who underwent EBUS-TBNA between February 2023 and January 2024. ROSE adequacy, final diagnostic adequacy, and ROSE-final pathology concordance were calculated. Factors associated with these outcomes were assessed using logistic regression analysis.

Ninety-five patients (mean age 65±13.8 years; 62.2% male) and 203 targets were sampled with 683 aspirations (3.4±1.8 passes/station). Based on lymph node (LN) level ROSE sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy were 76.6%, 100.0%, 100.0%, 85.4%, and 90.1%, respectively. The adequacy rates were 89.7% for ROSE and 90.6% for final pathology, and the ROSE-final pathology concordance was 88.2%. Diagnostic discordance occurred in 11.8% of the nodes, most of which were related to limitations in tumor subtyping. A greater number of needle passes was positively associated with ROSE adequacy (P = 0.038) and final adequacy (P = 0.021), whereas a larger LN diameter favored final adequacy (P = 0.045). Larger LNs and greater experience of the final-diagnosis pathologist were associated with lower ROSE-final diagnosis concordance (P = 0.026 and P = 0.015, respectively).

ROSE during EBUS-TBNA yielded high sensitivity and overall accuracy, demonstrated strong sample adequacy, and showed substantial concordance with the final pathology. Optimizing the number of passes and considering LN size can enhance adequacy, and recognizing the limitations of cytological subtyping and potential observer variability is essential for multidisciplinary decision-making.