Pope Francis, off Ventilation and Stable, Rested Well Overnight, Vatican says

The 88-year-old pontiff no longer requires the use of mechanical ventilation to breathe and has been without a fever, the Vatican said in its latest medical update on Sunday evening.

“The pope rested well all night,” said a one-line note from the Vatican on Monday morning that did not provide more details. A full medical update on the pope’s condition is expected on Monday evening.

Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on February 14 with severe respiratory problems that swiftly degenerated into double pneumonia – a serious infection in both lungs that can inflame and scar them, making it difficult to breathe.

The Vatican’s updates on the pope’s condition have taken a more upbeat tone since Friday, when the pope suffered a constriction of his respiratory airways, akin to an asthma attack, that required him to be aspirated.

On Sunday evening, the Vatican said the pope’s condition was stable and he no longer required the use of what was described as “non-invasive, mechanical ventilation”.

But the statement said doctors were keeping the pope’s prognosis as “guarded” due to the complexity of his condition, meaning he is not out of danger.

Francis has experienced several bouts of ill health over the last two years and is prone to lung infections because he had pleurisy as a young adult and had part of one lung removed.

He has not been seen in public since entering hospital, his longest absence from view since his papacy started in March 2013, and his doctors have not said how long his treatment might last.

Source: Reuters