Having already spent a week as an inpatient in Rome’s Gemelli hospital, the health of Pope Francis took a definite turn for the worse over the weekend.
His double pneumonia contributed to what his doctors called a “long asthmatic respiratory crisis”. On Saturday, they reported he had been given a blood transfusion for thrombocytopenia (a low platelet count).
The pontiff has been diagnosed as being critically ill. What does this mean?
A critically ill patient is defined as someone who has an illness that is impairing the function of one or more vital organ systems to the point that there is a high probability of a life-threatening deterioration in the person’s condition. On Saturday, the pope’s personal physician said “he is not out of danger”.
Germany shifts to the right as conservatives win election and far-right AfD surges, exit polls show
Welsh media reaction: New laws questioned after ‘rampaging force of nature’ Bundee Aki turns game
Last of the Irish Lords: ‘There’s a love-hate relationship between Irish people and Anglo titles’
Mortgage-free in a cosy cottage before age 40: ‘I don’t have any savings, but I don’t have any debt either’
What is the significance of having an ‘asthmatic respiratory crisis’?
The pope has been battling infection in both his lungs. A diagnosis of pneumonia means smaller airways are filled with pus and may have solidified.
The reference to ‘asthmatic’ in the medical bulletin means the larger airways are now feeling the strain and have gone into spasm. This is the process that causes wheezing in someone with asthma. The spasm is treated by steroids and oxygen therapy.
What are the possible causes of a low platelet count?
Thrombocytopenia means he has fewer than 150,000 platelets per microlitre of circulating blood. When the platelet count falls below about 50,000 platelets per microlitre of blood, bleeding can occur – even after relatively minor injury.
Certain medications – including the antibiotics being used to treat the pontiff’s pneumonia – can reduce platelets in the bloodstream.
A low platelet count can also be triggered by an autoimmune disease like rheumatoid arthritis or by an underlying cancer. Whatever the cause, circulating platelets are reduced by one or more of the following processes: trapping of platelets in the spleen; a decreased platelet production; or increased destruction of already circulating platelets.
What are the major health risks Pope Francis faces in the coming days?
Probably the biggest potential threat is the possible development of sepsis. This could occur if the infection in his lungs was to take hold in the blood- a condition called septicaemia.
Fighting off sepsis would pose a major challenge to any 88-year-old with underlying chronic health issues. Sepsis can lead to organ failure and death.
While we are told the pope has a strong heart, the strain his body is under could precipitate a heart attack or cause heart failure. Although both are treatable conditions, they could threaten his life.
The pope’s doctor at the Vatican, Luigi Carbone, said that as in the case of any fragile patient, it would take very little for the medical situation “to become unbalanced”.
