A 19-year-old man is brought to the emergency department after sustaining multiple injuries in a high-speed automobile collision. There is a pneumothorax on the left side, for which he has a chest tube placed. Over the next several days, a large amount of air drains continuously through the tube, and daily chest x-rays show that his collapsed left lung is not expanding.The patient is not on a respirator. All of his other injuries have been treated appropriately. Which of the following is the most likely cause of these findings?
A. Air embolism
B. Injury to the lung parenchyma
C. Injury to a major bronchus
D. Insufficient suction being applied to the chest tube
E. Tension pneumothorax
A. Air embolism
B. Injury to the lung parenchyma
C. Injury to a major bronchus
D. Insufficient suction being applied to the chest tube
E. Tension pneumothorax