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Posted By Udokabestluv On February 23rd, 2025
Pope Francis in critical condition after respiratory crisis, Vatican says
Pontiff in hospital for complex lung infection and has received high flows of oxygen and blood transfusions
Pope Francis was in critical condition on Saturday after he suffered a prolonged asthmatic respiratory crisis while being treated for pneumonia and a complex lung infection, the Vatican said.
The 88-Year-Old Pope, who remains conscious, received “high flows” of oxygen to help him breathe. He also received blood transfusions after tests showed low counts of platelets, which are needed for clotting, the Vatican said in a late update.
The pope has been hospitalised for a week with a complex lung infection.
The statement said the “Holy Father continues to be alert and spent the day in an armchair although in more pain than yesterday. At the moment the prognosis is reserved.”
Earlier, doctors said his health remains touch and go and he is expected to remain in hospital for at least another week.
They have warned that the main threat facing the pope would be the onset of sepsis, a serious infection of the blood that can occur as a complication of pneumonia.
As of Friday, there was no evidence of any sepsis, and Francis was responding to the various drugs he was taking, the pope’s medical team said.
Saturday’s blood tests showed that he had developed a low platelet count, a condition thrombocytopenia. Platelets are cell-like fragments that circulate in the blood that help form blood clots to stop bleeding or help wounds heal.
Low platelet counts can be caused by a number of things, including side effects from medicines or infections, according to the US National Institutes of Health.
Francis, who has chronic lung disease, was admitted to Gemelli hospital in Rome on 14 February after a week-long bout of bronchitis worsened.
Doctors first diagnosed the complex viral, bacterial and fungal respiratory tract infection and then the onset of pneumonia in both lungs.
They prescribed “absolute rest” and a combination of cortisone and antibiotics, along with supplemental oxygen when he needs it.
Dr Sergio Alfieri, the head of medicine and surgery at Gemelli hospital, said: “He knows he’s in danger,” Alfieri added. “And he told us to relay that.”
The Vatican hierarchy tried to tamp down speculation that the pope might decide to resign. There is no provision in canon law for what to do if a pope becomes incapacitated.
Francis has said that he has written a letter of resignation that would be invoked if he were medically incapable of making such a decision. The pope remains fully conscious, alert, eating and working.
The Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, gave a rare interview to Corriere della Sera to respond to rumours about a possible resignation.
It came after the Vatican issued an unusual and official denial of an Italian media report that said Parolin and the pope’s chief canonist had visited Francis in the hospital in secret.
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