Resident training in interventional pathology: Ultrasound‐guided fine‐needle aspiration and rapid on site evaluation—5 years of teaching experience in a single university hospital

Abstract

AbstractIntroductionDespite the established role of the interventional pathologist, their diagnostic performance is difficult to establish. At least in Spain training of pathology residents in ultrasound‐guided interventional procedures for specimen collection is limited or absent in most institutions. We present our teaching experience in the instruction of ultrasound‐guided fine‐needle aspiration (FNA) to pathology residents in a tertiary‐level hospital.Materials and MethodsThe training of pathology residents who rotated through the interventional unit of the pathology department and the application of ultrasound‐guided FNA and rapid on‐site evaluation (U‐ROSE) was documented over 5 years. The training period was broken down into learning phases and included the number of ultrasound‐guided FNA performed, anatomical location, and their diagnostic performance, among other aspects.ResultsNineteen (19) pathology residents were trained in U‐ROSE, and performed a total of 4003 procedures, with a mean of 211 per resident. In 53% of cases only one pass was required for an adequated sample. The specimen was diagnostic in more than 97% of cases. The most frequently sampled anatomical sites were the thyroid gland (n = 2347), followed by lymph node (n = 667), soft tissues (n = 663) and salivary glands (n = 322).ConclusionThe results support the training programme followed by pathology residents in learning U‐ROSE, which is essential to lay the foundations for the future interventional pathologist.