Rapid On-Site Evaluation Performed by an Interventional Pulmonologist: A Single-Center Experience

Background: Rapid On-Site Evaluation (ROSE) during bronchoscopy allows us to assess sample adequacy for diagnosis and molecular analyses in the context of precision oncology. While extemporaneous smears are typically evaluated by pathologists, their presence during bronchoscopy is not always possible. Our aim is to assess the concordance between ROSE performed by interventional pulmonologists and cytopathologists. Methods: We performed ROSE on 133 samples collected from 108 patients who underwent bronchoscopy for the diagnosis of suspect thoracic findings or for mediastinal lymph node staging (May 2023–October 2023). Randomly selected smears (one for each collection site) were independently evaluated for adequacy by a pulmonologist and a pathologist to assess the concordance of their evaluation. Results: Among 133 selected smears evaluated by a pulmonologist and pathologist, 100 were adequate for both, 10 were inadequate for both and 23 were discordant; hence, global concordance was 82.7%; Cohen’s Kappa was 0.385, defining fair agreement. Concordance was similar irrespective of sample collection site (lymph nodes vs. pulmonary lesions; p = 0.999) and among samples which were considered adequate or inadequate by the pulmonologist (p = 0.608). Conclusions: Trained pulmonologists can evaluate the appropriateness of sampling with good concordance with cytopathologists. Our work supports autonomous ROSE by pulmonologists where pathologists are not immediately available.