Vajpayee may be taken off ventilator

Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s lung infection is under control and he is responding to treatment, reports Jaya Shroff Bhalla.

Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s lung infection is under control and he is responding to treatment. Though he is still on ventilator support in the ICU, doctors treating him say he may be taken off the ventilator over the next few days.

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“He is stable and responding to the treatment. He is showing signs of improvement,” said Dr D.K. Sharma, medical superintendent at AIIMS.

“There is no threat to his life. His lungs are slowly clearing and we hope to bring him out of the ICU within a few days,” said a doctor unwilling to be named because he is not authorised to speak to the media.

“His pneumonia is under control with the prognosis being good. Gradually his oxygenation (amount of oxygen in blood purified by the lungs) level has shown improvement and there is no spread of pneumonia,” said Dr A. Sampath Kumar, head of cardio thoracic vascular surgery, who is part of the team treating Vajpayee.

Dr Sampath Kumar also said all the basic parameters like his heart, kidney, liver and blood pressure were normal. “He has a history of high blood pressure, which we are monitoring but his heart function is absolutely normal,” he said.