Definitive therapy for pulmonary edema in patients with severe renal failure is?

• A. Dialysis
• B. Oxygen therapy
• C. Bronchodilators
• D. Steroids

Answer: (A)

When pulmonary edema is driven by volume overload from severe renal failure, the root problem is excess fluid that the kidneys cannot remove. Dialysis directly removes both the excess fluid and uremic solutes, lowering extracellular volume, reducing preload and pulmonary capillary pressure, and rapidly improving edema and oxygenation. It also helps correct accompanying electrolyte and acid-base disturbances that can worsen edema. Oxygen therapy can support breathing but does not eliminate the fluid overload, so it’s not a definitive treatment. Bronchodilators and steroids address airway issues, not fluid overload, so they don’t resolve pulmonary edema in this context.