Rapid On-site Evaluation (ROSE) for Fine Needle Aspiration of Thyroid: Is It Helpful?

Abstract

Introduction: Thyroid nodules are very common. Many are detected incidentally due to increased head and neck imaging. The majority are benign; however, malignancy can’t be excluded in many cases and tissue sampling is needed. Ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration is an easy and effective way to sample g thyroid nodules. Inadequate sampling was reported in 10-40% of the cases. Rapid On-site Evaluation (ROSE) was proposed to assess obtained sample for adequacy. The aim of this study is to identify the benefit of applying ROSE with US-FNA of thyroid nodules within our institution. Materials and methods: Patients who underwent FNA for thyroid nodules with ROSE availability documented in their procedure note between January 2017 to December 2018 were retrospectively included. All procedures were done by experienced radiologists. Aspirated material was Diff Quik stained for immediate evaluation. The final cytological diagnosis and specimen adequacy was based on The Bethesda system for reporting thyroid cytopathology. Specimen adequacy was compared between ROSE and non-ROSE groups. Results: 442 thyroid nodules were biopsied. ROSE was available for 65 nodules. Non-diagnostic rate with ROSE was 10.8% compared to 13.8% without ROSE with the difference being statistically insignificant. ROSE availability improved sample adequacy of nodules less than 3 cm with statistically significant difference of 100.0% with ROSE vs. 87% without ROSE. Conclusion: The current study does not justify the routine use of ROSE. However, ROSE availability is beneficial with smaller sized thyroid nodules and less experienced radiologists performing the procedure. Doi: 10.28991/SciMedJ-2021-0301-1 Full Text: PDF