Pope Francis, who remains hospitalized, has a bilateral pneumonia, Vatican said on Tuesday.
The term simply means pneumonia in both lungs, said Dr. James Musser, director of the Center for Infectious Diseases at the Houston Methodist Research Institute. He added that without the patient’s test, he could not say anything specifically about his condition.
Generally, pneumonia is a small respiratory infection of the lungs. As the body mounts an inflammatory response, small pockets in the lungs are filled with immune cells; Symptoms may include fever, cough and shaking chills. In order to diagnose the disease, the doctor usually begs the patient to say for a long time “E”, as if a person was singing. Through the stethoscope, a “e” patient with pneumonia sounds like “A,” said Dr. Paul Pottinger, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Washington.
Most people with pneumonia are recovering well at home and should not be hospitalized. But for older people, pneumonia can be a “deadly situation,” said infectious diseases experts.
Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, professor of medicine and infectious diseases at the California University of San Francisco, added that “mortality rate has been growing after 85 years.” The pope is 88 and lacks part of one lung after a pulmonary operation in 1957.
The most likely cause of pneumonia is an infection caused by bacteria, Streptococcus pneumoniae, according to Dr. Chin-Hong. “The cause of pneumonia number 1, 2 and 3 is an strep pneumonia,” he said.
The disease can respond to antibiotics, but bacteria can sometimes be spilled from the lungs and in the rest of the body, resulting in sepsis, a dangerous situation. The vaccine can help relieve the risk of sepsis, but it does not prevent the situation, said Dr. Chin-Hong.
Dr. Pottinger noted that, although Strep pneumonia may include both lungs, it is usually limited to one lobe of one lung. Most bilateral pneumonia, he said, is caused by viruses, including flu or other bacteria. Other causes include respiratory syncytial virus or RSV, Legionella, Mycoplasma and Clamydia, said Dr. Pottinger.
With Dr. Chin-Hong, he agreed on the probable gravity of the pope’s condition.
“It’s a very scary situation,” said Dr. Pottinger.
