The pontiff is responding to drug therapy and sepsis has not been detected.
Pope Francis’s condition is not considered life-threatening, but he is not out of danger, his medical team has said, as the 88-year-old pontiff continued to receive treatment to fight pneumonia and a complex lung infection.
On their first in-person update on the pope’s condition, Francis’s personal physician, Luigi Carbone, and surgeon at Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, Sergio Alfieri, sought to reassure the public.
Francis was responding to the drug therapy that was “strengthened” after the pneumonia was diagnosed earlier this week, they said. He was also fighting a multipronged infection of bacteria and virus in the respiratory tract.
The doctors said there was no evidence the germs had entered his bloodstream, a condition known as sepsis that can lead to organ failure and death.
Yet, he was likely to remain in hospital “at least all next week” as there was still a risk that the infection could spread to other parts of the body.
Francis was also receiving supplemental oxygen when he needed it through a nasal cannula, a thin, flexible tube that delivers oxygen through the nose.
The head of the Catholic church was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli hospital on February 14 after a case of bronchitis worsened. Doctors later diagnosed a complex respiratory infection, involving bacteria, virus and other organisms and the onset of pneumonia in both lungs on top of asthmatic bronchitis.
There is no provision in canon law for what to do if a pope becomes incapacitated. Pope Benedict XVI “opened the door” to popes retiring, but Francis has shown no signs of stepping down.
During his hospital stay, he has continued to work, including making bishop appointments.
According to Alfieri, Francis was able to get out of bed and sit at his armchair to work, and maintained “a good appetite”.
The medical team also invited the media to avoid reporting unverified news after rumours were circulated that the pope’s health had taken a turn for the worse.