Correct!
5. All of the above
Although the underlying pathology is not entirely clear, in a man this age myocardial infarction would certainly be high on the differential. His electrocardiogram shows atrial fibrillation with bradycardia and nonspecific ST segment and T wave changes.
Arterial blood gases
Electrolytes
His chest x-ray is shown in Figure 1.
Figure 1. Admission portable chest radiograph.
The intensivist became frustrated climbing over the pressure tubing connecting the patient’s thigh blood pressure cuff to the manometer on the wall, and asked the nurses why they were using a thigh cuff. The nurses indicated they had done so because the patient had no detectable blood pressure in either arm.
The intensivist re-examined the patient (not having done a vascular examination the first time around), and found no radial pulse in either wrist. The correct diagnosis was finally suspected.
Which of the following should be done next? (Click on the correct answer to proceed to the third of five panels)