Pope Francis suffers from respiratory cramps and must be ventilated

According to the Vatican, Pope Francis suffered a setback in the hospital. The 88-year-old had bronchospasm in the afternoon, a cramp of the airways, it said in the evening in a message. This led to multiple vomiting and a “sudden deterioration of the respiratory image”. Francis was then mechanically ventilated. “The forecast therefore remains behavior,” it said.

The head of the Catholic Church has been treated in the Gemelli Hospital of Rome for two weeks. He suffers from pneumonia on both sides. In the past few days, there had been a slight improvement in the evening bulletins.

However, the message in the evening sounded very different again. According to this, the Pope had a “isolated crisis with bronchospasm” after a quiet night and a morning with physiotherapy breathing exercises and suddenly asked for an “episode of vomiting with inhalation and a sudden deterioration of the respiratory image”.

Francis received additional oxygen immediately and was then “non-invasively mechanically ventilated”. It first remained open whether the ventilation aid was ended again. At the same time, the Vatican in the bulletin emphasized that the Pope was always conscious. It was literally said: “The Holy Father stayed awake and oriented at all times.”

In the evening it was said in the evening that you need 24 to 48 hours to be able to assess whether the new crisis had led to a deterioration in the overall condition. In the past few days, Franziskus had improved slightly, according to official information. The evening before, it was even said that he was “out of the most critical phase”.

Because of his pneumonia, the Argentinian also regularly receives physiotherapy in addition to medication in the clinic, with which infection of the airways is to be alleviated. In addition, it is always supplied with an additional oxygen through the nose via a breathing mask or a hose.

By Friday afternoon, Francis has had no breath of breath since the weekend. Any dismissal is still not to be expected. “In view of the complexity of the clinical picture, further days of clinical stability are required,” it said on Thursday. Doctors always point out how dangerous pneumonia in Francis’ age is.

The 88-year-old was the successor to the German Pope Benedict XVI in March 2013. has been elected to the church. He is now the second oldest Pope in history.