Pope Continuing Therapy, Including Oxygen Says Vatican

Vatican City: Pope Francis spent a quiet night, the Vatican Press Office said on Wednesday morning. Vatican sources later said the results of a CAT scan carried out the previous day would be available on Wednesday and would presumably be released with the evening Medical Bulletin. They also said the pope had woken up after a restful night and was sitting in an armchair. The 88-year-old pontiff was continuing his treatment for pneumonia, including receiving oxygen therapy as during the previous days, they said.

According to Ansa News Agency, “A press briefing with doctors” treating the pontiff “is not excluded, before the end of the week, to get an update on the general situation”, the Vatican sources said, speaking about the pope’s health. They stressed that the pope “can eat normally”. The pontiff was not reported to have received new visits, apart from his close aids who are assisting him during his hospitalization. The pope on Monday received a visit from Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the Substitute for General Affairs Mons. Edgar Pena Parra at the Gemelli Hospital.

Speaking about the use of the term “critical” to describe the pope’s condition in the latest medical bulletins, the same sources explained that “the first time this term was used was when the doctors said the pontiff was not out of danger and therefore the prognosis was reserved”. The pope’s doctors held a press briefing last Friday. In a bulletin issued the previous evening, the pontiff was reported to be in critical but stable condition as he battles pneumonia at the Agostino Gemelli Hospital in Rome.

“The clinical conditions of the Holy Father remain critical, but stable. No acute respiratory episodes have occurred and the hemodynamic parameters continue to be stable”, said the Medical Bulletin released Tuesday evening by the Vatican Press Office. The prognosis remains guarded after a new CAT scan, the bulletin added. The Pope, it said, “had a scheduled CAT scan this evening for radiological monitoring of bilateral pneumonia. The prognosis remains reserved”, concluded the bulletin.