How would possible pregnancy affect urgently indicated imaging after major trauma?

Instruction: Choose the next imaging step for this patient, explain it in patient-centered terms, and identify what would change your plan.

Context: A patient of reproductive age presents after a high-speed collision. After initial resuscitation, the trauma team considers them stable enough for CT, but they have persistent abdominal tenderness and free fluid on bedside ultrasound. Pregnancy is possible; a test result will take about 45 minutes. The trauma team suspects a significant abdominal injury and requests contrast-enhanced CT.

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I would support the clinically indicated contrast-enhanced CT now after a rapid discussion with the trauma team. The concern is an internal injury that could threaten the patient’s health, and waiting for the pregnancy result would delay its assessment...

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