The respiratory tract infection of Pope Francis is presenting a “complex clinical image” that will require greater hospitalization, said the Vatican on Monday as concerns about the increasingly fragile health of the 88 -year -old pontiff grew.
The Vatican spokesman, Matteo Bruni, said that the results of the tests performed in recent days and on Monday indicate that the Pope suffers from a “infection of the polymicrobial respiratory tract” that has required an additional change in his pharmacological therapy. Scientists say that polymicrobial diseases are caused by a mixture of viruses, bacteria, fungi and parasites.
There was no deadline for hospitalization, which has already set aside for more than a hospitalization of 2023 for pneumonia. Bruni said that the complexity of his symptoms “will require adequate hospital stay.”
Francis, who had part of a lung, withdrew after a lung infection when he was young, was admitted to the Gemelli hospital in Rome in a “fair” condition on Friday after a week of bronchitis worsened. The doctors confirmed a respiratory tract infection and prescribed “absolute rest” together with unpredied pharmacological therapies. Subsequent updates said that their slight fever had disappeared and was in “stable” condition.
Bruni said Francis, had breakfast and read the newspapers on Monday morning after a quiet third.
As people age, their immune systems do not work so well, which makes doctors especially worried when elderly patients develop multiple problems. A decrease in lung function and muscle strength can accompany old age and harm the ability to effectively eliminate respiratory secretions. That can increase susceptibility to infections such as pneumonia.
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The Argentine Pope is a known work addict that follows an exhausting rhythm despite his increasingly precarious health. In addition to its frequent episodes of respiratory infections in winter, use a wheelchair, walker or cane due to bad knees and suffers from sciatic nervous pain. In 2021 it had 33 centimeters (13 inches) of its eliminated colon due to narrowing, and then underwent additional surgery in 2023 to eliminate the tissue from the intestinal scar and repair an abdominal hernia.
When he had a bad case of pneumonia in 2023, he left the hospital after three days and only acknowledged after the fact that he had been urgently admitted after feeling weak and having acute chest pain. This time, Francis insisted on finishing his morning audience on Friday before leaving the Vatican, although he was having problems speaking extensively because he lacked breathing.
The continuous hospitalization of Francis has already forced the cancellation of some events related to the Holy Year of the Vatican and questioned others. The official Vatican calendar online does not have more appointments or papal activities for February, and only collects on March 5, on Ash Wednesday. This week's general audience was canceled.
Francis was supposed to go to Cinecitta Cinecitta studies on Monday to meet with artists as part of the celebrations of the Holy Year of the Catholic Church, but the Vatican canceled that event. Beyond that, it had been scheduled to preside over Sunday in the ordination of deacons as part of a Holy Weekend dedicated to deacons. Although it still appears on the jubilee calendar as the main celebrant, his participation does not appear in the Vatican calendar.
When the jubilee Mass dedicated to artists was lost last Sunday, a cardinal faced him.
– Maria Cheng medical writer contributed from London.
& Copy 2025 the Canadian press