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.