Pope Francis ate breakfast Wednesday morning after being diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs, according to the Vatican.
Vatican spokesman Matteo Bruni said Francis had a peaceful fifth night at Gemeri Hospital in Rome.
“He had a quiet night and woke up to have breakfast,” the spokesman said.
The Vatican said Tuesday that Francis, whose upper lobe of his right lung was removed when he was young, was diagnosed with pneumonia in both lungs and its clinical tests, chest x-rays and clinical status of the Pope. Complex photos. ”
According to the Vatican, Pope Francis was diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia.
Pope Francis will be attending a general audience weekly at Pope Paul VI Hall in the Vatican on August 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Andrew Medicini)
“Multi-microbial infections that occur in photographs of bronchiectasis and sarcasmy bronchitis and require the use of antibiotic cortisone therapy make treatment more complicated,” the Vatican said Tuesday.
“The chest CT scan that the Holy Father did this afternoon showed the development of bilateral pneumonia, requiring further pharmacological therapy,” it continued.
However, the Vatican said Wednesday that the Pope remained healthy and thanked him for his prayers for recovery.
On Friday, 88-year-old Francis was admitted to the hospital in a “fair” state after his bronchitis worsened for a week. On Monday, the hospital determined he was suffering from a multimicrobial respiratory infection. This means that a mixture of viruses, bacteria, and perhaps other organisms had settled in his respiratory system.
Pope Francis was in a weekly audience at the Vatican on February 28, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrew Medicini)
“The follow-up chest CT scans received by the Holy Father this afternoon demonstrated the development of bilateral pneumonia, requiring additional medication,” Bruni said.
Bronchitis can lead to pneumonia, a deeper, much more serious infection in the air sac of the lungs. Pneumonia can develop in one lung or part or entire lung, and since there is insufficient healthy lung tissue to compensate, both lungs are affected, usually , more serious.
Treatments may vary, but include providing oxygen via the nasal duct or mask, via intravenous fluid, and treating the underlying cause of the infection.
Francis is not believed to be using supplemental oxygen. He ate breakfast every day, read the newspaper, and worked from his hospital room.
Pope Francis will stay in the hospital, the Vatican says
Pope Francis prays in front of the icon of Madonna del Popolo, respected by the Belarusians and Ukrainians, in the general audience of Paul VI's Hall. Vatican City (Vatican), January 11, 2023. (Grzegorz Galazka/Archivio Grzegorz Galazka/Mondadori Portfolio via Getty Images)
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The Vatican also said Francis didn't run the fever. That's what Carmelo Dassero, a Rome infectious disease and expert on elderly people's disease, said it wasn't necessarily positive because of the severity of his infection.
“High fever is a sign of an immune response to pathogens,” Dassero said. “To have a low fever and a serious bronchial infection… is a sign of a decrease in the immune response, which makes us a little more worried.
The Vatican has not said how long the Pope will remain in hospital, but he simply says that treatment for such a “complex clinical picture” requires a “proper” stay.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
