By Joshua McElwee
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) -Pope Francis is responding well to treatment in hospital and his doctors have decided his prognosis is no longer guarded, the Vatican said on Monday, in a sign of progress as the 88-year-old pontiff battles double pneumonia.
Francis has been in Rome’s Gemelli hospital for more than three weeks. He was admitted on February 14 with a severe respiratory infection that has required evolving treatment.
“The clinical conditions of the Holy Father continue to be stable,” said the latest detailed medical update.
“The improvements recorded in previous days have further consolidated, as confirmed by both blood tests and clinical assessments, as well as a good response to his drug treatments,” it said.
As a result, the pope’s doctors, have decided to lift their earlier “guarded” prognosis the Vatican said, but they expect Francis “to continue medical drug treatment in a hospital setting for further days.”
No exact time frame was given for his discharge.
Francis had been under the “guarded” prognosis, meaning he was not out of imminent danger, for most of his hospital stay.
The pope has been described as being in a stable or improving condition for the past week, following two crises of “acute respiratory insufficiency” on March 3.
The Vatican said earlier on Monday that Francis was continuing with his treatment and was undergoing respiratory physiotherapy to help with his breathing.
The pontiff, who has used a wheelchair in recent years due to knee and back pain, also continued with some physical therapy to help with mobility, it said.
The pope is receiving oxygen in hospital, using a small oxygen hose under his nose during the day and non-invasive mechanical ventilation at night while he sleeps.
The pope has experienced several bouts of ill health over the last two years and is prone to lung infections because he had pleurisy as a young adult and had part of one lung removed.
Double pneumonia is a serious infection in both lungs that can inflame and scar them, making it difficult to breathe.
(Reporting by Joshua McElwee, editing by Gavin Jones)
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