Trial reportThe Annals of thoracic surgery2015
A Prospective Clinical Trial of Telecytopathology for Rapid Interpretation of Specimens Obtained During Endobronchial Ultrasound-Fine Needle Aspiration.
Trial report in The Annals of thoracic surgery, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed.
- Reliability of Rapid On-Site Evaluation Achieved by Remote Sharing Systems (E-ROSE) and AI Algorithms (AI-ROSE) Compared With the Gold Standard in the Diagnosis of Lung Cancer.Respirology (Carlton, Vic.) · 2025Article
- Expert opinion on NSCLC small specimen biomarker testing - Part 1: Tissue collection and management.Virchows Archiv : an international journal of pathology · 2022Review
- The impact of pathological analysis on endobronchial ultrasound diagnostic accuracy.Mediastinum (Hong Kong, China) · 2020Review
- Article
- Rapid on-site evaluation using telecytology: A major cancer center experience.Diagnostic cytopathology · 2019Article
- Accuracy of rapid on-site evaluation of endobronchial ultrasound guided transbronchial needle aspirates by respiratory registrars in training and medical scientists compared to specialist pathologists-an initial pilot study.Journal of thoracic disease · 2018Article
- The Empirical Foundations of Telepathology: Evidence of Feasibility and Intermediate Effects.Telemedicine journal and e-health : the official journal of the American Telemedicine Association · 2017Review
- Endobronchial Ultrasound-Guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration: Techniques and Challenges.Journal of cytologyArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundCytopathologic interpretation of endobronchial ultrasound with fine needle aspiration (EBUS-FNA) samples by a pathologist can be time-consuming and costly, and an onsite cytopathologist may not always be readily available. A telecytopathology system was instituted and evaluated to examine the effect on operative time for EBUS.
methodsA prospective study was performed of sequential patients undergoing EBUS-FNA for the evaluation of mediastinal lymphadenopathy. Specimens for the control group were transported to the pathology laboratory, followed by remote cytologic interpretation. In a subsequent cohort, a telecytopathology system was used with intraoperative transmission of real-time live video microscopy to a remote cytopathologist (TCP group). The primary outcome was time to confirmation of cytology results.
resultsOf 46 patients entered into the study, 23 underwent traditional analysis (control group), and 20 were analyzed using telecytopathology (TCP group). Lung cancer was the most common malignancy in both groups (12 TCP, 12 control). There was no difference in mean number of lymph node stations sampled (1.3 TCP vs 1.8 control, p = 0.76). Use of TCP was associated with fewer needle passes (4.9 vs 7.3, p = 0.02) and fewer slides for interpretation (8.4 vs 13.5, p = 0.01) per procedure. Time to result confirmation was significantly shorter in the TCP group (19.0 vs 46.7 minutes, p < 0.001). A diagnostic specimen was obtained in 70% of patients in the TCP group compared with 65% in the control group (p = 0.5). False-negative rates in patients undergoing EBUS-FNA and mediastinoscopy were similar between the two groups (0 in TCP vs 2 in control, p = 0.49). Mean procedural costs (excluding cost of the telecytology system and operating room time) were equivalent between the two groups ($888 TCP vs $887 control).
conclusionsTelecytopathology provides rapid interpretation of EBUS-FNA samples with diagnostic accuracy comparable to traditional methods, shortens procedure time, and is a more efficient model for delivery of on-site EBUS-FNA interpretation.
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