The controversy surrounding the death of George Washington was immediate, intense, and continues today. After a horse ride in sleet and snow, Washington developed fulminant acute epiglottitis that rapidly claimed his life within 24 hours. In treatment, he endured phlebotomy of over 2500 mL as well as various other painful therapies that were the standard practice of the day. Over the years, numerous criticisms have been lodged against the care his three physicians rendered. Although the marked bloodletting has been most heavily scrutinized, others have argued that Washington could have survived had a tracheostomy been performed. Delayed presentation, prolonged Class IV hemorrhagic shock, acute respiratory failure, and probable septic shock in a 67 year old with preexisting medical comorbidities has a high mortality rate today and would have been irreversible in 1799. George Washington's inevitable death was assured by his own initial actions compounded by the treatments initiated by his physicians.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
CohenB.The death of George Washington (1732–99) and the history of cynanche.J Med Biogr2005; 13: 225–31.
2.
CurfmanD.R.The Medical History of the Father of Our Country—General George Washington. The Order of the Founders an Patriots of America. Available at: www.founderspatriots.org/articles/gw_medical_history.htm. Accessed June 14, 2007.
3.
DaviesN.E., DaviesG.H., SandersE.D.William Cobbett, Benjamin Rush, and the death of General Washington.JAMA1983; 249: 912–5.
4.
EmeryA.E.George Washington in his last illness, attended by Doctors Craik and Brown.Clin Med2001; 1: 407.
5.
EstesJ.W.George Washington and the doctors: Treating America's first superhero.Med Herit1985; 1: 44–57.
6.
HenriquesP.R.The Death of George Washington: He Died as He Lived.Mount Vernon, VA: The Mount Vernon Ladies’ Association, 2000.
7.
MorensD.M.Death of a president.N Engl J Med1999; 341: 1845–9.
8.
SchatzkiS.C.Washington in his last illness attended by Drs. Craik and Brown.AJR Am J Roentgenol1997; 168: 332.
9.
ScheidemandelH.H.Did George Washington die of quinsy?Arch Otolaryngol1976; 102: 519–21.
10.
SchmidtP.J.Transfuse George Washington!Transfusion2002; 42: 275–7.
11.
SchneebergN.G.Death of a president.N Engl J Med2000; 342: 1222.
12.
StavrakisP.Heroic medicine, bloodletting, and the sad fate of George Washington.Md Med J1997; 46: 539–40.
13.
VadakanV.V.The asphyxiating and exsanguinating death of President George Washington.The Permanente Journal2004; 8: 76–9.
14.
WallenbornW.M.George Washington's Terminal Illness: A Modern Medical Analysis of the Last Illness and Death of George Washington. The Papers of George Washington. Available at: http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/articles/wallenborn.html. Accessed December 19, 2007.
15.
WittC.B.Jr.The health and controversial death of George Washington.Ear Nose Throat J2001; 80: 102–5.
16.
GlunkD.J.Remembering How Far Health Care Has Come Since George Washington's Time. Medical News Today. Available at: www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/37212.php. Accessed December 13, 2007.
BlindermanA.George Washington's health; in peace and war.N Y State J Med1975; 75: 122–32.
19.
Tobias Lear's narrative acounts of the death of George Washington. In: CrackelT.J., ed. The Papers of George Washington. Digital Edition.University of Virginia Press, Rotunda, 2007. Available at: http://rotunda.upress.virginia.edu. Accessed June 2, 2007.
20.
ScheidemandelH.H.Death of General Washington.JAMA1983; 250: 2928.
SchneckJ.M.Elisha Dick, Benjamin Rush, and George Washington.JAMA1983; 250: 164.
23.
KatoriH., TsukudaM.Acute epiglottitis: analysis of factors associated with airway intervention.Am J Laryngol Otol2005; 119: 967–72.
24.
DellingerR.P., LevyM.M., CarletJ.M.Surviving Sepsis Campaign: International guidelines for management of severe sepsis and septic shock: 2008.Crit Care Med2008; 36: 296–327.
