Doctors mentioned that it would require a day or two to assess the impact of the Friday afternoon incident on Francis’ overall health condition. They maintained a cautious outlook on his prognosis, indicating that the risk had not passed yet.
In the Saturday morning update, the Vatican reported that the 88-year-old pope did not experience any additional breathing difficulties overnight: “The night passed peacefully, and the pope is currently resting.” He had a cup of coffee for breakfast, implying that he was not relying on a ventilator to breathe and could still eat independently.
Regarding Francis’ situation, Coleman, who is not part of the pope’s medical team, expressed concern due to his advanced age, fragile health, and previous lung surgery.
Dr. William Feldman, a pulmonary specialist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, said it was a good sign that the pope remained alert and oriented during the episode, but concurred that it marked “a worrying turn.”
“Often we will use noninvasive ventilation as a way of trying to stave off an intubation, or the use of invasive mechanical ventilation,” Feldman said.
Types of noninvasive ventilation include a BiPAP machine, which helps people breathe by pushing air into their lungs. Doctors will often try such a machine for a while to see if the patient’s blood gas levels improve so they can eventually go back to using oxygen alone.
Friday’s statement said Francis showed a “good response” to the gas exchange using the ventilation.
Doctors did not resume referring to Francis being in “critical condition,” which has been absent from their statements for three days now. But they say he isn’t out of danger, given the complexity of his case.
