The woman who set herself on fire at Government House last week has developed a blood infection that is keeping her in a critical condition.
Lab technicians are trying to identify the type of infection so they can treat the patient with the right medication, said Phonloet Phanthanakun, director of Vajira Hospital.
The woman, identified as Sangvean Raksaphet, 52, earlier developed a high fever that led doctors to suspect a blood infection. Yesterday her temperature still fluctuated around 39C.
Medical staff have been ordered to clean her wounds every day and remove dead tissue to prevent germs accumulating, he said.
Meanwhile, nurses continue to provide nutrients through a feeding tube in the hope of boosting her immunity.
The doctors are also alert to the possibility of "immediate lung infection", which can occur in a patient with widespread and severe burns, Dr Phonloet said.
Ms Sangvean was rushed to hospital on Wednesday after she doused herself in fuel and set herself ablaze at a people's service centre, where she had gone to file a complaint over a 1.5-million-baht debt.
She claimed she was a victim of a loan shark in Lop Buri, who she said cheated her. The government is helping her with the debt, but it remains unclear whether her account is true after a woman claiming to be the creditor's relative denied the accusation.
Ing Thanyawarin, who says she is a niece of Tidarat Thep-arak, denied her family had issued death threats to Ms Sangvean to get her to repay the debts.
The man, who Ms Sangvean claimed had issued the threat, was in fact a bed-ridden leukaemia patient unable to carry out such an action, Ms Ing said.