How should you manage a trauma patient who appears anxious or combative due to blood loss?

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When a trauma patient is anxious or combative from blood loss, the priority is safety and calming the patient while maintaining airway, breathing, and circulation and delivering analgesia per protocol. Begin by ensuring scene safety for both patient and responders, keeping hazards at bay and using restraint only when necessary and as minimally as possible to prevent harm. Use a calm, reassuring voice to reduce fear and help the patient cooperate with care. Secure the airway if there is any risk of compromise or if agitation could worsen breathing, and continuously monitor breathing and circulation. Minimize agitation by addressing pain and anxiety, and administer analgesia according to your protocol, titrating carefully and watching for blood pressure and respirations. Treating pain and distress early helps blunt the sympathetic surge from blood loss, supports assessment, and helps stabilize the patient for definitive care.