Respiratory Support
Respiratory arrest -- someone who has stopped breathing -- is fatal on
its own, but it opens the same kind of window cardiac arrest does: a
short chance to keep them going by hand or by machine while the actual
problem gets fixed.
Like CPR, none of these methods only matter when breathing itself is
the reason someone is dying. None of them fix anything else that is
independently killing the patient, and none of them repair damaged
lungs, close a chest wound, or wake anyone up. They buy time for a real
fix -- they do not substitute for one.
There are three tiers, each stronger and more reliable than the last.
Mouth-to-mouth
breathe <target>
The weakest, least reliable tier. It needs no equipment, but it
occupies your hands and attention completely -- getting hit, being
dragged off, being knocked out, or leaving the room all end it
immediately. Use the ordinary 'stop' command to end it deliberately.
Bag-valve-mask (BVM)
bvm <target>
A real physical device, clearly more effective than working by hand,
but it still needs someone actively squeezing it the whole time --
exactly the same interruption rules as mouth-to-mouth apply. You must
be carrying the BVM to use it.
Mechanical ventilator
ventilator attach <target>
ventilator detach <target>
The strongest and most reliable tier, because it is the only one that
does not need anyone standing there operating it once it is properly
attached. It keeps working through everything short of someone
deliberately detaching it or the device itself being taken away --
including a Server reload. You must be carrying the ventilator to
attach it.
No permission is asked
None of these can be used on someone who is still breathing on their
own -- there is nothing for them to do. Because they only ever work on
someone already in respiratory collapse, there is no conscious target
to ask permission of; this is different from treatments like oxygen or
a transfusion, which can be given to someone conscious and do require
their trust.
See also:
help medical system
help death and unconsciousness
help cpr
help pneumothorax