By Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis’ condition showed “further slight improvement” in the previous 24 hours, the Vatican said in its evening medical bulletin Feb. 26. The “mild renal insufficiency” previously noted in the pope’s condition “has receded,” the bulletin said, and the results of a CT scan performed Feb. 25 showed a “normal evolution” of his pulmonary inflammation. The results come from the third CT scan the pope has received during his hospitalization; he was diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs after the second scan, which was performed Feb. 18. The 88-year-old pope, who has been in Rome’s Gemelli hospital since Feb. 14, “continues high-flow oxygen therapy” and did not have another “asthmatic respiratory crisis” like the one he experienced Feb. 22, the Vatican said. The pope began receiving oxygen through a nasal cannula after that incident and “continues respiratory physiotherapy.” Notably, the evening bulletin did not describe the pope’s condition as “critical,” as it had each day since Feb. 22, but said his “prognosis remains guarded.”
