Rapid on-site pathologic evaluation does not increase the efficacy of endobronchial ultrasonographic biopsy for mediastinal staging.

Background: Endobronchial ultrasonography with transbronchial needle aspiration (EBUS-TBNA) has been shown to be equivalent to mediastinoscopy in lung cancer staging for mediastinal node involvement. Rapid on-site evaluation (ROSE) to determine the adequacy of nodal sampling has been claimed to be beneficial.

Methods: A retrospective evaluation was performed in 170 patients who underwent EBUS-TBNA from July 2008 to May 2011.