Question regarding the pope's medical treatment

[quaoar]

When the pope took his turn for the worst the middle of last week, there was a medical expert being interviewed on MSNBC. He was asked about the latestinformation that the pope had a urinary tract infection.

The expert (I don't remember his name) remarked that urinary tract infections are rare in men and that this one was likely the result of the treatment the pope was getting for one of his other medical problems.

The urinary tract infection led to blood poisoning and septic shock and then death. So, why would the pope's medical staff treat him in such as way that a urinary tract infection might result?

I'm no medical expert. I'm hoping someone here can explain this to me.

[Spinzonner]

1. Prostate enlargement occurs with nearly all men

as they age, even if it is benign.

I would expect that this could lead to a higher risk of infections due to restrictions and obstructions of urine flow.

So while they may be rare in men overall (across age groups), they may be more prevalent in older men.

I wonder if the fact that he has been forced to become highly sedentary due to his Parkinson's could also place him at greater risk.

Also, he may have been given a urinary catheter for previous treatments, which would also increase the risk.

Not a doctor or medical professional ...

[EVDebs]

2. Good question. Bacteria and catheter seem to be the possible

culprits here. See 'Urinary tract infection-Males' athttp://www.emedicine.com/med/topic2346.htm

His job for a long long time required him to basically 'hold it' if you know what I mean, and then if he had a catheter put in while in earlier hospitalization, the chances increased for potential infection to occur.

No 'blaming' anyone here. As the article states and shows, the older you get the chances increase for this event to occur.

[Warpy]

3. I don't think it was exactly a result of his treatment.

However, he was being treated with antibiotics which can sometimes suppress the immune system. He may have been treated with steroids, which do the same. He also had surgery, which does the same. He could have had a bug sitting in his bladder waiting for an opportunity, and his weakened condition was just that opportunity. He may have had a bug ride into his bladder on a catheter. Whatever happened, it happened more as a result of his overall physical deterioration than the treatement itself. They didn't specifically insert bacteria into his bladder as a treatment.

Urosepsis (the five dollar word for his condition) seems to happen fairly frequently in males, especially elderly males. Most respond to antibiotics and recover. His infection was an aggressive one, though, and his body didn't fight it at all.

Back in the good old days before antibiotics, pneumonia was called the old man's friend, because it afforded sick old men a way out. Since his pneumonia had been treated, urosepsis had to be his friend.

[seventythree]

4. My uncle died of the same thing

but he had battled problems with the kidneys and urinary tract for a long time. My best guess is that the Pope, having difficulty swallowing, was not pushing enough fluids -- I don't care if you are male or female, young or old, not getting enough fluids to flush the body is an invitation for a problem/bacterial infection. Drink that water!

I was with my uncle when he died; the docs had said he would recover, so it came as a shock, even to the nurses, but he was ready to leave, and I had a sense that he was as I sat and talked to him. Supposedly in a coma, he stroked my hand with his thumb as I held his. It was very peaceful.