• By Nidhi Giri
  • Mon, 24 Feb 2025 02:12 PM (IST)
  • Source:JND

Vatican City Pope Francis News: The blood tests of Pope Francis showed early kidney failure, the Vatican said. However, the 88-year-old pontiff, who is in a critical condition, remained alert, responsive and even attended Mass. The Pope has been battling respiratory issues, including pneumonia and another complex lung infection.

Sharing an update late Sunday, the Vatican said that Francis did not suffer any more respiratory crises since Saturday night but was still receiving major flows of supplementary oxygen, a report from The Associated Press said.

Though some blood tests showed "initial, mild, kidney failure", the doctors said that it was under control. “The complexity of the clinical picture, and the necessary wait for drug therapies to provide some feedback, dictate that the prognosis remains guarded,” the pontiff's doctor remarked.

However, doctors have warned that Pope Francis is facing the threat of sepsis, a serious blood infection that can occur as a side effect of pneumonia. The Vatican, so far, has not provided any update regarding the onset of any sepsis.

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Pope Francis News

Pope Francis, who has chronic lung disease, was admitted to Gemelli hospital on February 14 after a weeklong bout of bronchitis worsened.

Doctors first diagnosed the complex viral, bacterial and fungal respiratory tract infection and then the onset of pneumonia in both lungs. They prescribed “absolute rest” and a combination of cortisone and antibiotics, along with supplemental oxygen when he needed it.

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Carbone, who along with Francis' personal nurse Massimiliano Strappetti organised care for him at the Vatican, acknowledged he had insisted on staying at the Vatican to work, even after he was sick, “because of institutional and private commitments."

He was cared for by a cardiologist and infectious specialist in addition to his personal medical team before being hospitalised.

(With Agency Inputs)