A 22-year-old man is hypotensive and tachycardic after a shotgun wound to the left
shoulder. His blood pressure is initially 80/40 mm Hg. After initial fluid resuscitation
his blood pressure increases to 122/84 mm Hg. His heart rate is now 100 beats per
minute and his respiratory rate is 28 breaths per minute. A tube thoracostomy is
performed for decreased left chest breath sounds with the return of a small amount
of blood and no air leak. After chest tube insertion, the most appropriate next step is:
Select one:
a. Reexamine the chest
b. Perform an aortogram
c. Obtain a CT scan of the chest
d. Obtain arterial blood gas analyses
e. Perform transesophageal echocardiography