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Updated: Sep 23, 2025

Author Spotlight: Developing a Bedside Protocol for Kidney and Genitourinary Ultrasonography
Published on: June 21, 2024
Kidney Ultrasound for Nephrologists: A Review
Rohit K Singla1,2, Matthew Kadatz3, Robert Rohling2,4
1MD and PhD Program, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Abstract:
Ultrasound imaging is a key investigatory step in the evaluation of chronic kidney disease and kidney transplantation. It uses nonionizing radiation, is noninvasive, and generates real-time images, making it the ideal initial radiographic test for patients with abnormal kidney function. Ultrasound enables the assessment of both structural (form and size) and functional (perfusion and patency) aspects of kidneys, both of which are especially important as the disease progresses. Ultrasound and its derivatives have been studied for their diagnostic and prognostic significance in chronic kidney disease and kidney transplantation. Ultrasound is rapidly growing more widely accessible and is now available even in handheld formats that allow for bedside ultrasound examinations. Given the trend toward ubiquity, the current use of kidney ultrasound demands a full understanding of its breadth as it and its variants become available. We described the current applications and future directions of ultrasound imaging and its variants in the context of chronic kidney disease and transplantation in this review.
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