"His condition is serious": what is known about Bolsonaro's hospitalization

The former president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, is in a "serious" state of health, reported Dr. Brasil Caiado, who is treating the far-rightist at Hospital DF Star, in Brasilia, after being hospitalized during the early hours of this Friday in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) after presenting bacterial bronchopneumonia. "His pneumonia is serious", stated the cardiologist attending to Bolsonaro, who is serving a sentence of 27 years and three months in prison in the Papuda penitentiary complex for being responsible for the attempted coup d'état of 2023 in Brazil, quoted by the local press.

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During a press conference reviewed by the local press, Caiado added: "His condition is serious. The situation is serious because, in fact, it began this morning. And there is a specific test, called procalcitonin, which rises in acute infections. And it only increases the frequency of more serious infections, and his increased drastically in the first sample we took." The specialist explained that although "each infection has a particular characteristic" while affecting patients, in the cases of people over 70 years old, as is the case with Bolsonaro who will turn 71 on March 21st, pneumonia "is always serious because it evolves into septicemia", that is, a generalized infection. For the moment, the doctor detailed, the former president was evaluated with a computed tomography scan, which confirmed the suspicion of his condition by showing that he is facing a bilateral bronchopneumonia, which is more pronounced on the left side. "What is striking is that this condition, this pneumonia, is more extensive and pronounced compared to all the others he has had. This requires special attention now," said the expert, who recalled that Bolsonaro had a similar episode in August that left traces on his body, which is why he "tends to have these small recurrent bronchoaspirations."

Possible Complication

Caiado explained that Bolsonaro's current condition requires more dedicated attention, because the former president runs the risk of complications due to the possibility of pneumonia spreading. "Upon examining a large part of the left lung and also the right one, compared to other examinations carried out during previous hospitalizations, we found a more serious situation," the doctor said, pointing out that this time Bolsonaro presents a worse situation with respect to the accumulation of fluid in his lungs. The doctor also said that, while the former president currently takes seven pills a day exclusively for his digestive tract, the gastric problem, which he also suffers from, is not the priority now. "After this hospitalization, the focus is entirely on the infection. The patient's total protection," he said. Caiado added that now the objective "is to prevent the infection from progressing. It is a risk. As I said, we don't know how it will evolve. Therefore, constant monitoring and continuous adjustments to the medication are required."