Pope Francis improving, but 'prognosis remains guarded'
Editor's Note: This page is a summary of news on Pope Francis' health for Wednesday, Feb. 26. For the latest news, view our story for Thursday, Feb. 27.
The health of Pope Francis showed a "slight further improvement over the past 24 hours" and a chest CT scan showed positive, normal progression of his lung inflammation, the Vatican said Wednesday.
"The mild kidney insufficiency observed in recent days has subsided," the second Vatican statement of the day said, adding that "despite the slight improvement, his prognosis remains guarded."
Francis remains on high-flow oxygen therapy but for the fourth consecutive day did not experience "any asthma-like respiratory episodes." The 88-year-old pontiff has been recovering from double pneumonia and other ills. The afternoon statement did not address whether the pope remained in critical condition; a report earlier Wednesday listed his condition as critical.
"This morning, the Holy Father received the Eucharist, and in the afternoon, he resumed his work," the statement said.
Francis was admitted to Gemelli Hospital in Rome on Feb. 14 after battling bronchitis for more than a week. He had been struggling to speak and breathe during public appearances. He was later diagnosed with a polymicrobial infection and mild renal insufficiency, both of which appear to be under control, the Vatican says.
Pope working from hospital as followers pray for recovery
The pope has been working from his hospital room, making phone calls and preparing teaching texts that are being released by the Vatican almost daily.
Thousands of followers have been gathering in St. Peter's Square in the evenings to pray the rosary. Special prayer services are being conducted around the world, including Argentina, where the pope was born and served as an archbishop before his ascension to the papacy.
“May our prayer be the breath of air that Pope Francis' lungs need," said the Archbishop of Buenos Aires, Jorge Ignacio García Cuerva, during the homily for an outdoor mass Monday evening. "Do not slow down. We need you very much."
Infectious disease physician sees positive signs
Pneumonia is an infection that carries a relatively high mortality rate, Dr. Thomas Russo, who heads the infectious diseases department at the University at Buffalo School of Medicine, told Paste BN.
"If your kidneys fail, you can get dialysis, but when the lungs fail there is only so much oxygen you can deliver," Russo said.
But there are positive signs for the pope: He is taking oxygen via a tube in his nose rather than intubation, where the oxygen tube goes down the windpipe. And he has been talking, which indicates he is not too short of breath.
"The fact that he hasn't been intubated, that the kidney issue stabilized, that the oxygen flow is better, all this indicates he may be turning the corner," Russo said. "There is reason for cautious optimism. At least he's not going in the wrong direction."
But Russo warned that Francis could get another infection, a common occurrence in hospitals.
"Things can change quickly in hospitals; you need to take it day by day," he said. "You're not out of there until you are out of there."
How problematic is 'mild renal insufficiency'?
Renal function is measured with a creatinine lab test. A creatinine test measures how well your kidneys are performing the task of filtering waste − creatinine − from your blood. Creatinine is a chemical compound left over from energy-producing processes in your muscles. Healthy kidneys filter creatinine and other waste products out of the blood and into urine.
Dr. Robert Greenspan, a nephrologist in Alexandria, Va., said some loss of renal function is normal as people age. He added that the creatinine number generally isn't as important as the change in the number over days − that is what physicians will be monitoring for the pope, he said.
"If the creatinine is stable and the urine output good there should be no problem with his recovery," Greenspan said. "Right now no alarms are going up."