Pope Francis experienced another setback with “two episodes of acute respiratory insufficiency” caused by “a significant accumulation of mucus in the lungs,” according to the medical update from his doctors in the Gemelli Hospital, which the Vatican released around 7 p.m. this evening.
In response to this, it said, “two bronchoscopies were performed, requiring the aspiration of abundant secretions.”
“In the afternoon, non-invasive mechanical ventilation was resumed,” the report said.
The 88-year-old pope “remained alert, oriented and collaborative,” the report said. The doctors again issued a “guarded prognosis” this evening, which means the pope is not yet out of danger.
An informed Vatican source said Pope Francis spent “a tranquil morning” and the “two episodes” of bronchial spasm “happened in the afternoon, but they have been overcome now.” He reported that “the blood parameters are stable” and noted that “there was no increase of the white blood cells, which indicates that there was not an infection that is growing.” Rather, he said, “these episodes are the consequence of the [pneumonia] infection that is still there.” The cause of the two attacks today, he said, was the reaction of the bronchi, which attempted to expel the accumulated mucus in order to eliminate the bacteria. He concluded that the pope’s “condition is complex, and it takes time to eliminate the pneumonia.”
Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the lead doctor of the pope’s medical team who has operated on the pope twice in previous years, told the press briefing on Friday, Feb. 21, that the pope’s condition is complex and “it takes little to change the balance,” and episodes such as we have seen in the past two weeks do not come as a surprise.
Commenting on today’s medical report, Dr. Anna Lisa Bilotta, who works in the Salvator Mundi International Hospital in Rome and is not treating the pope, told America: “There were two acute respiratory crises today because he had significant deposits of mucus inside the lungs, that had to be aspirated or removed by bronchoscope.” She explained that the bronchoscope is usually put in the nose or mouth and moved down the throat and trachea into the airways.
She said doctors often send samples of the mucus to laboratories to see if there is some specific type of bacteria that may be resistant to the antibiotics they are using, although today’s report does not mention new lab tests.
She said, “The doctors had to again resort to the use of non-invasive mechanical ventilation, that is, a mask over the nose and mouth.” She said these two episodes “are much like what happened Friday but seem less severe.”
She added, “It is an acute situation in a chronic condition, but it seems not to be as severe as the first time,” referring to the pope’s respiratory crisis on Feb. 22 that required giving him high-flow oxygen and blood transfusions.
Dr. Bilotta noted that “in the medical reports, his doctors do not tell us what stage the pneumonia is at, or whether the antibiotic treatment is working. We know little about that, and so it is difficult to make a proper evaluation of his condition, but it is clear that it will take a long time to resolve.”
