Pope Francis is in a critical condition after he suffered a long asthmatic respiratory crisis that required high flows of oxygen, the Vatican has said.
The 88-year-old pontiff, who has been in hospital for a week with a complex lung infection, also received blood transfusions after tests showed a condition associated with anemia, the Vatican said in a late update on Saturday.
Warning that “the pope is not out of danger”, the statement marked the first time the Vatican has described Francis’ condition as “critical” after his health deteriorated over the past 24 hours.
“The Holy Father remains alert and has spent the day in a chair, though he is more unwell than yesterday. At the moment, the prognosis is reserved,” the Vatican added, suggesting the pope’s prognosis is in flux and requires close observation.
Francis’ doctors have warned that the main threat facing him would be the onset of sepsis, a serious infection of the blood that can occur as a complication of pneumonia – and can lead to organ failure and death.
As of Friday, there was no evidence of any sepsis, and Francis was responding to the various drugs he is taking, the pope’s medical team said in their first in-depth update on the pope’s condition.
Francis, who has chronic lung disease, was admitted to Gemelli hospital on 14 February after a weeklong 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.
Double pneumonia is a serious infection that can inflame and scar both lungs, making it difficult to breathe. The Vatican has described the pope’s infection as “complex,” saying it is being caused by two or more micro-organisms.
Dr Sergio Alfieri, the head of medicine and surgery at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, said the biggest threat facing Francis was that some of the germs that are currently located in his respiratory system pass into the bloodstream, causing sepsis.
Saturday’s blood tests showed that he had developed a low platelet count, a condition called platelopenia or 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’ doctors described him as highly vulnerable due to his age and frailty.
“Sepsis, with his respiratory problems and his age, would be really difficult to get out of,” Alfieri told a news conference at Gemelli on Friday, adding: “He knows he’s in danger. And he told us to relay that.”
Francis, who has been pope since 2013, has suffered bouts of ill health in the past two years. He is particularly prone to lung infections because he developed pleurisy as a young adult and had part of one lung removed.
