Experience of the Implementation of Rapid On-Site Evaluation in Ultrasound-Guided Fine-Needle Aspiration Biopsy of Thyroid Nodules.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of the implementation of the rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE) technique in ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy of thyroid nodules.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted an observational and retrospective study approved by the Institutional Ethics Committee as an investigation without risk. Between January 2012 and December 2015, 892 ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration biopsy procedures were performed under ultrasound guidance. In our study, we included 522 procedures from 473 patients that were taken as part of an investigation of the thyroid nodule (average age: 56 ± 14; 84% were women). We compared the percentage of unsatisfactory samples in the procedures performed with and without the use of the ROSE technique, the cytology adequacy agreement with the cytopathology, and we also assessed the relationship with the number of years of experience of the radiologist.

RESULTS: The ROSE technique led to a decrease of 30.5% of unsatisfactory samples. By 2014, more than half of the procedures were performed with the ROSE technique, and the percentage of unsatisfactory samples decreased progressively each year. The technical implementation of ROSE improved the results of all radiologists; however, those radiologists with the least number of years of experience showed the greatest benefits from the implementation of the ROSE technique. The concordance between the ROSE technique and the cytopathology report was good (Cohen κ = 0.75).

CONCLUSION: In our experience, the implementation of the ROSE technique has helped to reduce the percentage of unsatisfactory samples, which improves the quality and safety of patient care.