Pope's chronic lung condition plus infection are serious, doctor says

Pope's chronic lung condition plus infection are serious, doctor says 
By Carol Glatz , OSV News

VATICAN CITY (CNS) -- While Pope Francis' life is not in immediate danger, the level of multiple infections in his lungs means he is not completely "out of danger," said Dr. Sergio Alfieri, director of medical and surgical sciences at Rome's Gemelli hospital.

The biggest risk he faces is sepsis, that is, if the infection that is currently localized only in his lungs passes into his bloodstream and begins to affect the rest of his body's organs, the doctor told reporters in the hospital atrium Feb. 21.

Pope Francis will need to stay hospitalized for at least another week, he said, in order to continue administering a wide range of drug and clinical therapies aimed at eradicating the viral, bacterial and fungal infections in his lungs as well as aid his breathing with low doses of cortisone. The pope does have supplemental oxygen available to take in with a nasal cannula when he needs it, he added, specifying he is "not hooked up to any machines."

Alfieri, the surgeon who performed Pope Francis' abdominal surgeries in 2021 and 2023, and a large team of specialized medical personnel have been following the pope since he arrived at Gemelli Feb. 14 after more than a week of suffering from bronchitis and difficulty breathing.

The pope had been receiving care at his residence, the Domus Santae Marthae, from Dr. Luigi Carbone, vice director of the Vatican health service, and his personal nurse, Massimiliano Strappetti, for the bronchial infection and "dyspnea" or difficulty breathing, Alfieri said.

Because the pope wanted to be taken care of at his residence, Carbone said, multiple specialists came by, particularly because of the pope's previous chronic lung conditions: bronchiectasis and asthmatic bronchitis, caused by years of respiratory problems and repeated bouts of bronchitis.

These chronic conditions can have "flare-ups," he said, "plus with his age, by definition, he is a fragile patient."

The treatment required the use of cortisone antibiotic therapy, Alfieri said, which unfortunately also lowers the patient's immune system and affects glucose levels. The pope does not have diabetes, he added, but it shows the need to keep dosages low, but high enough to be effective.

When it was no longer possible to take care of these problems "at home," he was brought to the hospital, he said.