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©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Nephrol. Dec 25, 2025; 14(4): 110491
Published online Dec 25, 2025. doi: 10.5527/wjn.v14.i4.110491
Published online Dec 25, 2025. doi: 10.5527/wjn.v14.i4.110491
Lung ultrasound in nephrology: Basics, applications, limitations, and future directions
Naga Sai Akhil Reddy Gogula, Molecular Physiology Institute, Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC 27710, United States
Abhilash Koratala, Division of Nephrology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI 53226, United States
Author contributions: Gogula NSAR conducted an independent literature review and drafted the initial manuscript; Koratala A critically reviewed and revised the manuscript for intellectual content.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest to disclose.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Abhilash Koratala, Associate Professor, Senior Researcher, Division of Nephrology, Medical College of Wisconsin, 8701 W Watertown Plank Road, Room A 7633, Milwaukee, WI 53226, United States. akoratala@mcw.edu
Received: June 9, 2025
Revised: July 12, 2025
Accepted: November 5, 2025
Published online: December 25, 2025
Processing time: 199 Days and 7.4 Hours
Revised: July 12, 2025
Accepted: November 5, 2025
Published online: December 25, 2025
Processing time: 199 Days and 7.4 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: Point-of-care ultrasonography, especially lung ultrasound (LUS), is becoming an essential bedside tool in nephrology. It enables dynamic, noninvasive assessment of fluid status and extravascular lung water, particularly in dialysis patients. Evidence from trials like Lung Water by Ultrasound-Guided Treatment in Haemodialysis Patients highlights its potential to guide ultrafiltration, improve blood pressure control, and reduce heart failure events. Simplified protocols, such as 8-zone LUS, offer diagnostic efficiency with greater feasibility. However, LUS should not be used in isolation. Com