Pope Francis was listed in critical condition Saturday.
A report in the Associated Press revealed the pope suffered a long asthmatic respiratory crisis. This required high flows of oxygen, the Vatican said.
The 88-year-old pope has been hospitalized for a week with a complex lung infection. During this time, he has received blood transfusions after tests showed the pope had low counts of platelets, the Vatican said in a late update.
“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,” the Vatican statement said.
The pope had previously been diagnosed with pneumonia and a complex respiratory infection. He is expected to remain hospitalized for at least another week.
“He is not out of danger,” said Dr. Luigi Carbone, his personal physician. “So like all fragile patients I say they are always on the golden scale: In other words, it takes very little to become unbalanced.”
Dr. Sergio Alfieri, the head of medicine and surgery at Rome’s Gemelli hospital, said the biggest threat now facing the pope is sepsis, which can lead to organ failure and death.
“Sepsis, with his respiratory problems and his age, would be really difficult to get out of,” Alfieri said Friday. “The English say ‘knock on wood,’ we say ‘touch iron.’ Everyone touch what they want. But this is the real risk in these cases: that these germs pass to the bloodstream.”
He added the pontiff is aware what is going on.
“He knows he’s in danger,” Alfieri said. “And he told us to convey that.”
