Implementation of Telecytology for Immediate Assessment of Endoscopic Ultrasound-Guided Fine-Needle Aspirations Compared to Conventional On-Site Evaluation: Analysis of 240 Consecutive Cases

Objective: To evaluate the implementation of telecytology in an academic cytology service for immediate assessment of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) and endobronchoscopic ultrasound (EBUS) fine-needle aspiration (FNA). Study Design: Telecytology was evaluated over a 10-month period. Using an Olympus BX41® microscope and an Olympus DP72® camera with Olympus cellSens® software, real-time dynamic images of air-dried Diff-Quik®-stained smears were transmitted by a cytopathology fellow or cytotechnologist using a secure internet connection. The cytopathologists remotely accessed the real-time images on a computer in their office and rendered immediate assessments. Mean procedure times, and preliminary and final diagnoses were compared between telecytology and conventional on-site evaluation. Results: Two hundred and forty consecutive EUS-FNA and EBUS-FNA procedures with immediate assessments were performed during the evaluation period, of which 158 (66%) utilized telecytology and 82 (34%) did not utilize telecytology. The mean procedure time required for cytotechnologists and cytology fellows was 1.1 h for both conventional on-site and telecytology evaluations. The mean procedure time for cytopathologists was 0.74 h for conventional on-site evaluations and 0.2 h for telecytology. Conclusions: Incorporation of telecytology for immediate assessment of EUS-FNA increased cytopathologist efficiency.