Vatican says the pope has a 'polymicrobial respiratory tract infection.' What is that?
Vatican authorities said Monday that Pope Francis 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 바카라 게임 웹사이트polymicrobial respiratory tract infection,바카라 게임 웹사이트 but gave no further details on the severity of his illness or what would change in his treatment.
Here바카라 게임 웹사이트s a look at the Pope바카라 게임 웹사이트s latest diagnosis and what his treatment could involve.
What is a polymicrobial respiratory tract infection?
Essentially, it means there바카라 게임 웹사이트s a mix of bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites growing in someone바카라 게임 웹사이트s lungs.
바카라 게임 웹사이트Often 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,바카라 게임 웹사이트 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.
바카라 게임 웹사이트It likely means he has more than one organism in his lungs,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Sauler said, explaining that the pope바카라 게임 웹사이트s doctors might have to adjust his treatment to make sure the antibiotics attack all the various organisms.
Related video below: CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner commets on Pope Francis' health.
How serious is this?
For someone with the pope바카라 게임 웹사이트s medical history 바카라 게임 웹사이트 he lost part of his right lung decades ago and has previously had pneumonia 바카라 게임 웹사이트 it바카라 게임 웹사이트s worrying that he바카라 게임 웹사이트s 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, 바카라 게임 웹사이트bacteria can come and colonize the airways 바카라 게임 웹사이트 and you start to see infections which makes it more difficult to treat.바카라 게임 웹사이트 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.
바카라 게임 웹사이트If they바카라 게임 웹사이트ve identified particular things to treat, they can treat those and he바카라 게임 웹사이트ll start to recover.바카라 게임 웹사이트
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.
바카라 게임 웹사이트Some infections require prolonged treatment because they바카라 게임 웹사이트re just harder to clear from the system,바카라 게임 웹사이트 Hopkinson said. 바카라 게임 웹사이트It sounds like they바카라 게임 웹사이트ve identified the bugs that are responsible and they바카라 게임 웹사이트ll be able to treat those바카라 게임 웹사이트but we바카라 게임 웹사이트ll just have to wait and see.바카라 게임 웹사이트
Dr. Peter Openshaw, a lung expert at Imperial College London, said the presence of multiple organisms wasn바카라 게임 웹사이트t 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.
바카라 게임 웹사이트Even though we can treat pneumonias with antibiotics, pneumonias are also one of the leading causes of death,바카라 게임 웹사이트 said Sauler of Yale University. He said antibiotics don바카라 게임 웹사이트t work in isolation and that a person바카라 게임 웹사이트s immune system is also critical to fighting off pneumonia, pointing out that the immune systems in older people aren바카라 게임 웹사이트t usually as resilient.
바카라 게임 웹사이트When you바카라 게임 웹사이트re 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.바카라 게임 웹사이트
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.
바카라 게임 웹사이트I바카라 게임 웹사이트d be most interested in making sure he바카라 게임 웹사이트s not worsening despite the best efforts (of his doctors). That바카라 게임 웹사이트s usually a bad prognostic sign,바카라 게임 웹사이트 he said, adding that they would likely review his condition in a few days to see whether or not the prescribed drugs are working.
바카라 게임 웹사이트I have optimism and hope that he can pull through with the right antibiotic.바카라 게임 웹사이트
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Nicole Winfield contributed to this report from Rome.