The former president has been hospitalized at the DF Star hospital since March 13 and is still not expected to be discharged from hospital
The former president (PL), 71 years old, remained “clinically stable, afebrile and uneventful”according to a medical bulletin released this Sunday (March 22, 2026).
The text says that the former head of the Executive “continues with intravenous antibiotic therapy, intensive clinical support and respiratory and motor physiotherapy”. Despite the improvement, there is still no expectation of hospital discharge. Read (PDF – 79 kB).
The bulletin is signed by the doctors:
- Dr. Claudio Birolini – general surgeon;
- Dr. Leandro Echenique – cardiologist;
- Dr. Brasil Caiado – cardiologist;
- Dr. Antônio Aurélio de Paiva Fagundes Jr. – coordinator of the General ICU;
- Dr. Allisson B. Barcelos Borges – general director.
Bolsonaro has been admitted to the ICU of the DF Star Hospital, in Brasília (DF), since March 13, when he left the prison in Papudinha to be treated. with bilateral bacterial bronchopneumonia.
BOLSONARO’S CLINICAL PICTURE
Bolsonaro at around 2am on Friday (13th March), at the 19th Military Police Battalion of the Federal District, known as Papudinha. This is the third pneumonia faced by the former president. According to doctors, it is the most severe to date.
Given the symptoms, a team from the Mobile Emergency Care Service, which remains on duty at the location, was called to provide the first assistance. Doctor Brasil Caiado later evaluated Bolsonaro and already suspected pneumonia.
The former president went to DF Star Hospital around 8:50 am. Police officers escort the moment of transfer from the ambulance to the health unit.
He underwent a series of tests, including a chest and sinus CT scan, laboratory tests and a viral panel to rule out other possible infections.
The tomography indicated bilateral bronchopneumonia, more pronounced in the left lung. Treatment was started immediately with antibiotics administered intravenously. Two medications were used preventively and therapeutically.
After starting the medication, Bolsonaro showed a small improvement, but still reported nausea, headache and muscle pain typical of an infectious condition.
HEALTH HISTORY
Since during the 2018 electoral campaign, in Juiz de Fora (MG), Bolsonaro has undergone 14 surgeries. Of the total, 10 are directly related to sequelae caused by the abdominal injury and complications arising from subsequent procedures.
The former president suffers from refractory, or chronic, hiccups, which can cause reflux with substances entering the respiratory tract, as happened in the early hours of Friday (13 March). The 3 most recent surgeries were performed on December 25th, 27th and 29th, 2025.
At Christmas, a procedure called bilateral inguinal herniorrhaphy was performed, indicated to correct two hernias in the groin region. –one on the right side and one on the left.
The 2nd and 3rd surgeries were performed to block the phrenic nerve, the right and left respectively, with the aim of reducing hiccups episodes.
