Pope Francis Sleep well and ate breakfast on Wednesday morning after he was diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs according to the Vatican.
Matteo Bruni, a spokesperson for the Vatican, said that Francis had a quiet fifth night in the Gemelli hospital in Rome.
“He had a quiet night, woke up and had breakfast,” said the spokesperson.
The Vatican said on Tuesday that Francis, who had removed the upper lob from his right lung when he was young, had been diagnosed with pneumonia in both his lungs and that laboratory tests, X -ray of the chest and the clinical state of the Pope “complex image.”
Pope Franciscus diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia, says Vatican
Pope Franciscus attends his weekly general public in the Pope Paul Vi Hall in the Vatican on August 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
“The polymicrobial infection, which arose on a photo of bronchiectasis and asmatiform bronchitis, and that requires the use of antibiotic cortisone therapy, makes therapeutic treatment more complex,” said the Vatican on Tuesday.
“The CT scan of the breast that the Holy Father has undergone this afternoon … demonstrated the beginning of bilateral pneumonia that required further pharmacological therapy,” it continued.
But the Vatican said on Wednesday that the pope remains in a good mood and is grateful for the prayers for his recovery.
On Friday was Francis, 88, Admitted to the hospital In “honest” condition after a week of bronchitis deteriorated. On Monday the hospital determined that he suffered from a polymicrobial airways infection, which means that a mix of viruses, bacteria and possibly other organisms in his airway channel was colonized.
Pope Francis on his weekly public in the Vatican on 28 February 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
“The follow-up chest CT scan that the holy father underwent this afternoon … demonstrated the start of bilateral pneumonia, which required extra drug therapy,” said Bruni.
Bronchitis can lead to pneumonia, a deeper and much more serious infection of the air bags of the lungs. Pneumonia can develop in a part of either the entire lung or both lungs, and it is usually more serious when both lungs are influenced, because there is insufficient healthy lung tissue to compensate.
The treatment can vary, but can include the offering of oxygen through a nose tube or mask, intravenous liquids and treatment of the underlying cause of the infection.
Francis is not supposed to use additional oxygen. He ate breakfast every day, read the newspapers and did some work from his hospital room.
Pope Francis stays in the hospital, says Vatican
Pope Franciscus prays for the icon of the Madonna del Popolo, honored by Wit -Russians and Ukrainians, during the general public in the Paul VI Hall. Vatican City (Vatican), January 11, 2023. (Grzegorz Galazka/Archivio Grzegorz Galazka/Mondadori portfolio via Getty images)
The Vatican also said that Francis did not run a fever that Carmelo d’Asero, an infectious disease and geriatric illness expert in Rome, said it was not necessarily a positive matter because of the severity of his infection.
“A high fever is a sign of an immune response on a pathogen,” said D’Asero. “Having a low fever and having a serious bronchial infection … is a sign of a reduced immune response and that makes us worry a little more, let’s say. Maybe if he had a fever, it would have been better.”
The Vatican did not say how long the pope could stay in the hospital, and only said that the treatment of such a “complex clinical image” would require a “sufficient” stay.
The Associated Press has contributed to this report.
