Vatican authorities said Monday that Pope Francis has a complex infection in his respiratory system and will require more targeted drug treatment. Officials said the 88-year-old pope is suffering from a 맥스카지노�polymicrobial respiratory tract infection,맥스카지노� but gave no further details on the severity of his illness or what would change in his treatment.Here맥스카지노�s a look at the Pope맥스카지노�s latest diagnosis and what his treatment could involve.What is a polymicrobial respiratory tract infection?Essentially, it means there맥스카지노�s a mix of bacteria, viruses, fungi or parasites growing in someone맥스카지노�s lungs.맥스카지노�Often times, people will get a bronchitis or an airway infection and that can often start a cascade of multiple problems, including infections in the lungs,맥스카지노� said Dr. Maor Sauler, who specializes in adult pulmonary and critical care medicine at Yale University's School of Medicine. He said such issues were common in older people whose immune systems might be weaker or had complex health issues.맥스카지노�It likely means he has more than one organism in his lungs,맥스카지노� Sauler said, explaining that the pope맥스카지노�s doctors might have to adjust his treatment to make sure the antibiotics attack all the various organisms.Related video below: CNN medical analyst Dr. Jonathan Reiner commets on Pope Francis' health. How serious is this?For someone with the pope맥스카지노�s medical history 맥스카지노� he lost part of his right lung decades ago and has previously had pneumonia 맥스카지노� it맥스카지노�s worrying that he맥스카지노�s been hospitalized.Dr. Nick Hopkinson, medical director of Asthma + Lung UK, said most healthy people would likely recover quickly from bronchitis.But in people whose lungs are already damaged, 맥스카지노�bacteria can come and colonize the airways 맥스카지노� and you start to see infections which makes it more difficult to treat.맥스카지노� In people with lungs that have been previously compromised, they might need help breathing, including oxygen support or chest physiotherapy to help them clear fluids building up in their lungs.Still, Hopkinson said that getting the pope on the right medications should help.맥스카지노�If they맥스카지노�ve identified particular things to treat, they can treat those and he맥스카지노�ll start to recover.맥스카지노�How long might this take?That depends. Antibiotic treatments typically take from a few days up to about two weeks. Hopkinson said the pope might be given various medicines, including ones that people typically take for asthma or conditions like chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, in addition to getting physiotherapy to help keep his chest as clear as possible.맥스카지노�Some infections require prolonged treatment because they맥스카지노�re just harder to clear from the system,맥스카지노� Hopkinson said. 맥스카지노�It sounds like they맥스카지노�ve identified the bugs that are responsible and they맥스카지노�ll be able to treat those맥스카지노�but we맥스카지노�ll just have to wait and see.맥스카지노�Dr. Peter Openshaw, a lung expert at Imperial College London, said the presence of multiple organisms wasn맥스카지노�t unusual in people with complex medical histories but could be hard to manage.Are there other issues doctors might be concerned about?Pneumonia is a likely worry.맥스카지노�Even though we can treat pneumonias with antibiotics, pneumonias are also one of the leading causes of death,맥스카지노� said Sauler of Yale University. He said antibiotics don맥스카지노�t work in isolation and that a person맥스카지노�s immune system is also critical to fighting off pneumonia, pointing out that the immune systems in older people aren맥스카지노�t usually as resilient.맥스카지노�When you맥스카지노�re 88 years old, the age of the pope, then all of a sudden you have risk factors that make the situation tougher than just a routine pneumonia.맥스카지노�What will doctors be monitoring next?Sauler said the biggest thing to watch out for in the coming days is any sign that the pope is getting worse.맥스카지노�I맥스카지노�d be most interested in making sure he맥스카지노�s not worsening despite the best efforts (of his doctors). That맥스카지노�s usually a bad prognostic sign,맥스카지노� he said, adding that they would likely review his condition in a few days to see whether or not the prescribed drugs are working.맥스카지노�I have optimism and hope that he can pull through with the right antibiotic.맥스카지노�___Nicole Winfield contributed to this report from Rome.