Former US President Bill Clinton has been admitted to the University of California Irvine Medical Center’s intensive care unit for a urinary tract infection that spread to his bloodstream.
His doctors told CNN on Thursday, October 14, that Clinton was in the ICU for privacy and safety, not because he needs intensive care. He is said to be in good spirits, talking to family and staff, and has been up and walking, according to both his doctors and his staff.
A joint statement released on Thursday evening by Dr Alpesh Amin, chair of medicine at UC Irvine Medical Center, and Dr Lisa Bardack, Clinton’s personal primary physician read “He was admitted to the ICU for close monitoring and administered IV antibiotics and fluids. He remains at the hospital for continuous monitoring. After two days of treatment, his white blood cell count is trending down and he is responding to antibiotics well. We hope to have him go home soon”
The former President’s doctors said urologic infections are very common in older people, and they are easily treated, although they can quickly spread to the bloodstream. Clinton will be given intravenous antibiotics until Friday, October 15, when he will likely be switched to oral antibiotics. His vital measurements are all stable, the doctors said.
In the years since Clinton left the White House in 2001, the former president has faced health scares. In 2004, he underwent quadruple bypass surgery after experiencing prolonged chest pains and shortness of breath. He returned to the hospital for surgery for a partially collapsed lung in 2005, and in 2010 had a pair of stents implanted in a coronary artery.