LONDON (AP) 鈥� Vatican authorities said Monday that has a complex infection in his respiratory system and will require more targeted drug treatment. Officials said the 88-year-old pope is suffering from a 鈥減olymicrobial respiratory tract infection,鈥� but gave no further details on the severity of his illness or what would change in his treatment.
Here鈥檚 a look at the Pope鈥檚 latest diagnosis and what his treatment could involve.
What is a polymicrobial respiratory tract infection?
Essentially, it means there鈥檚 a mix of bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites growing in someone鈥檚 lungs.
鈥淥ften times, people will get a bronchitis or an airway infection and that can often start a cascade of multiple problems, including infections in the lungs,鈥� said Dr. Maor Sauler, who specializes in adult pulmonary and critical care medicine at Yale University's School of Medicine. He said such issues were common in older people whose immune systems might be weaker or had complex health issues.
鈥淚t likely means he has more than one organism in his lungs,鈥� Sauler said, explaining that the pope鈥檚 doctors might have to adjust his treatment to make sure the antibiotics attack all the various organisms.
How serious is this?
For someone with the pope鈥檚 medical history 鈥� he lost part of his right lung decades ago and has previously had pneumonia 鈥� it鈥檚 worrying that he鈥檚 been hospitalized.
Dr. Nick Hopkinson, medical director of Asthma + Lung UK, said most healthy people would likely recover quickly from bronchitis.
But in people whose lungs are already damaged, 鈥渂acteria can come and colonize the airways 鈥� and you start to see infections which makes it more difficult to treat.鈥� In people with lungs that have been previously compromised, they might need help breathing, including oxygen support or chest physiotherapy to help them clear fluids building up in their lungs.
Still, Hopkinson said that getting the pope on the right medications should help.
鈥淚f they鈥檝e identified particular things to treat, they can treat those and he鈥檒l start to recover.鈥�
How long might this take?
That depends. Antibiotic treatments typically take from a few days up to about two weeks. Hopkinson said the pope might be given various medicines, including ones that people typically take for asthma or conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, in addition to getting physiotherapy to help keep his chest as clear as possible.
鈥淪ome infections require prolonged treatment because they鈥檙e just harder to clear from the system,鈥� Hopkinson said. 鈥淚t sounds like they鈥檝e identified the bugs that are responsible and they鈥檒l be able to treat those鈥ut we鈥檒l just have to wait and see.鈥�
Dr. Peter Openshaw, a lung expert at Imperial College London, said the presence of multiple organisms wasn鈥檛 unusual in people with complex medical histories but could be hard to manage.
Are there other issues doctors might be concerned about?
Pneumonia is a likely worry.
鈥淓ven though we can treat pneumonias with antibiotics, pneumonias are also one of the leading causes of death,鈥� said Sauler of Yale University. He said antibiotics don鈥檛 work in isolation and that a person鈥檚 immune system is also critical to fighting off pneumonia, pointing out that the immune systems in older people aren鈥檛 usually as resilient.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e 88 years old, the age of the pope, then all of a sudden you have risk factors that make the situation tougher than just a routine pneumonia.鈥�
What will doctors be monitoring next?
Sauler said the biggest thing to watch out for in the coming days is any sign that the pope is getting worse.
鈥淚鈥檇 be most interested in making sure he鈥檚 not worsening despite the best efforts (of his doctors). That鈥檚 usually a bad prognostic sign,鈥� he said, adding that they would likely review his condition in a few days to see whether or not the prescribed drugs are working.
鈥淚 have optimism and hope that he can pull through with the right antibiotic.鈥�
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Nicole Winfield contributed to this report from Rome.
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The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute鈥檚 Science and Educational Media Group and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Maria Cheng, The Associated Press
