Pope Francis Health Update: Doctors Diagnose 'Mild' Liver Failure

Pope Francis remains in a critical condition, though he has not had any "further respiratory crises," said the Vatican on Sunday. The 88-year-old leader of the Catholic Church was reported to be in a critical situation on Saturday following his week long hospitalization for a lung infection. Doctors pointed out it to be polymicrobial infection. As of the new health update, he has "mild" kidney failure.

However, doctors said that the situation is under control and the Pope is "well-oriented". The Associated Press reported that the Pope's prognosis remains reserved and no prediction for his recovery could be made due to the "complexity of the clinical picture and the necessary wait for drug therapies to provide some feedback." He has also received blood transfusions following the tests that indicated a condition close to anemia.

What Happens When Your Liver Fails?

As per John Hopkins Medicine, this is a condition when your liver suddenly stops working, which may happen right after an overdose of medicine or poisoning.

One of the causes is over consumption of acetaminophen, which is a painkiller found in many over-the-counter and prescription medicines. However, other underlying reasons like hepatitis or Wilson disease could also cause your liver to fail.

Pope's Health Over Time

Earlier it was reported that the Pope had pneumonia in both his lungs as well as bacterial, viral and fungal infections. While pneumonia itself cannot directly cause liver failure, a severe case of the disease especially in a person with pre-existing liver disease like cirrhosis could lead to more complications and even liver dysfunction. As per the 2018 study published in Respiratory Research, titled Pneumonia in patients with cirrhosis: risk factors associated with mortality and predictive value of prognostic models, cirrhosis makes those patients easily be the target of pneumonia.

Read more on Pope's Health Updates Here

The ray of hope is that doctors have given him supplemental oxygen and treating him with drug therapy to which the Pope is responding well. Doctors have also prescribed him "absolute rest" and thus, as a result several of his public events have been cancelled.

Doctors have also warned that his condition may be the onset of sepsis, which happens when body's immune system overreacts to an infection. It can also lead to organ failure. This also happens when your body is reacting in extremes to an infection, including pneumonia. The infection-fighting processes turn on the body, causing organs to work poorly and thus sepsis may progress to septic shock. It can cause a sudden drop in blood pressure that can damage the lungs, kidney, liver and other organs. This may explain the reason for "mild" liver failure that the Pope is currently experiencing.

Francis has led the church as a Pope for 12 years ever since he was elected in 2013. In the past too, he had been hospitalized several times, including in July 2021 for a narrowing of his large intestine. Then again in 2023 he was hospitalized for bronchitis. Doctors have reported him to have a chronic bronchitis and a history of respiratory issues, which may explain why this time he was diagnosed with polymicrobial infection, a lung infection, which doctors say could be an onset of sepsis.