Sir Winston Churchill: treatment for pneumonia in 1943 and 1944
This paper reviews Churchill’s illness in Carthage in December 1943. It was characterised by fever that lasted 6 days, left lower lobe pneumonia and two episodes of atrial fibrillation. He was managed in a private villa by Lord Moran, his personal physician, with the assistance of two nurses and the expert advice of colleagues. Sulphadiazine and digitalis leaf were precribed and Churchill recovered. It is remarkable that, despite the severity of his illness, he continued to direct the affairs of State from his bed.
This paper examines the association between Winston Churchill and Charles McMoran Wilson, later Lord Moran, who was made personal physician to Churchill in 1940 at the instigation of the Cabinet when Churchill became prime minister of wartime Britain.
Keywords Churchill, Moran, medical history, Second World War
Declaration of Interests No conflict of interests declared.