Pulmonology · Internal Medicine · 2 h ago
New lung ultrasound recommendations offer practical guidance but lack evidence grading
A commentary assesses the 2026 international expert recommendations for point-of-care lung ultrasound, which draw on 1,154 publications and present 83 statements across seven domains. The authors welcome the practical guidance but question its review methods, evidence grading and relationship to other consensus documents.
- The update contains 83 statements across seven domains.
- The panel reviewed 1,154 publications.
- The commentary notes the absence of certainty-of-evidence ratings.
- The recommendations are expert consensus, not formal clinical practice guidelines.
The 2026 recommendations update the 2012 international framework for point-of-care lung ultrasound (PoCLUS). Developed by 21 experts, the update draws on 1,154 publications and includes 83 new or modified statements across seven domains. It addresses terminology, image acquisition, and the diagnosis, monitoring and prognosis of pneumothorax, interstitial syndrome, consolidations and pleural effusions.
In practice
For clinicians using PoCLUS, the updated statements offer practical bedside guidance, but the commentary emphasizes that they are expert recommendations rather than formal clinical practice guidelines. The authors advise interpreting them alongside other consensus work and within a multimodal patient assessment, not treating the ultrasound image in isolation. The recommendations do not include certainty-of-evidence ratings, making the strength of support for individual statements harder to judge; they should not be read as a definitive, fully graded practice standard.
AI-generated clinical interpretation · Not editor-reviewed
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Intensive Care Medicine: Updating the foundations of point-of-care lung ultrasound—a long-awaited but only partially fulfilled need? ↗This is an automated AI-condensed summary that has not yet been reviewed by an editor. Always consult the full item at the original source.