Doctors considered ending Pope Francis’ medical treatment

ROME (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - Doctors coordinating the Pope's hospital care said his medical team briefly considered considered suspending treatment after a breathing crisis last month, but instead decided on an aggressive course that put his organs at risk.

Dr. Sergio Alfieri said the 88-year-old pontiff and people close to him alike understood "that he might not survive the night" after the bronchospasm attack during which the pope inhaled vomit.

"We needed to choose whether to stop and let him go, or to push it and attempt with all of the possible drugs and the treatments, taking the very high risk of damaging other organs," Alfieri told the Corriere della Sera, a daily newspaper in Milan.

Francis was released Sunday after 38 days of treatment for double pneumonia, under doctors' orders to observe two months of convalescence during which he should avoid large gatherings.

The Pope appeared weak and frail when he greeted the crowd outside the Gemelli Hospital before his discharge.

Alfieri acknowledged that the treatment risked damaging the pope's kidneys and bone marrow, "but we continued, and his body responded to the treatments and the lung infection improved.''

The medical bulletin that night said that the pope had suffered a bronchiospasm so severe, he inhaled vomit "worsening his respiratory picture." Doctors immediately used a non-invasive aspiration to clear his airways.

Three days later, in a second life-and-death crisis, the Pope suffered a pair of acute bronchiospasms episodes.

Doctors used a camera tube with a device to remove mucus plus that yielded abundant secretions.

The bulletin emphasized that the Pope "always remained alert, oriented and collaborative.''

In the meantime, King Charles's scheduled audience with Francis at the Vatican has been postponed by mutual agreement after medical advice suggested the pontiff would be better off with more rest. Buckingham Palace made the announcement in a statement Tuesday.

The tentative audience was among details of the British monarch's visit to the Vatican and Italy last week by the Palace.

State visits are always planned in close consultation with the Vatican's Secretariat of State.

The statement said, "Their majesties send the Pope their best wishes for his convalescence and look forward to visiting him in the Holy See, once he has recovered."