HOUSTON — Former President George H.W. Bush and his wife, Barbara, remain hospitalized in Houston, where he was in intensive care for pneumonia and she was being watched after complaining of fatigue and coughing.

The 92-year-old former president went into the ICU on Wednesday and underwent a procedure “to protect and clear his airway that required sedation,” family spokesman Jim McGrath said in a statement.

Bush was stable and resting comfortably at Houston Methodist Hospital, McGrath said.

The 41st president was placed in the ICU to address “an acute respiratory problem stemming from pneumonia,” McGrath said. He said doctors were happy with how the procedure went. Bush was first admitted to the hospital Saturday for shortness of breath.

McGrath said Barbara Bush, who is 91, had not been feeling well for a couple of weeks and decided “to take it out of committee and have the experts check it out.” He described the move as precautionary.

Physicians initially believed the former president would be released later this week following several days of treatment, but his stay has been extended, McGrath said.

Doctors want to see how the former first lady responds to treatment before allowing her to return home, he said.

The Bushes, who were married Jan. 6, 1945, have had the longest marriage of any presidential couple in American history. At the time of their wedding, he was a young naval aviator; she had been a student at Smith College.

After World War II, the pair moved to the Texas oil patch to seek their fortune and raise a family.