The diagnostic accuracy of lung ultrasound for common pathologies such as pleural effusion, pulmonary edema, pneumothorax, and pneumonia is superior to chest radiograph and is comparable to chest CT scan. In addition, POCUS is helpful to evaluate the progress of lung pathology and response to treatment over time.

In ESRD patients on dialysis, lung ultrasound greatly outperforms the physical exam findings that we commonly rely on to ensure adequate ultrafiltration. It’s time to upgrade our physical exam! See the ‘visual abstracts’ section for more literature.