Season 3
Episode 21 - Family
Brief Plot Summary
Maddy and Nick are two brothers brought in for a bone marrow transplant. Nick has leukemia and Maddy's marrow will cure it; however, when he sneezes before the operation, House is brought to figure out what the infection is within 4-5 days, which is how long Nick has to live without an immune system. House wants to make Maddy sicker to figure out what he has and then treat it. They find that his scrotum is inflamed as well. The infection is now in his mitral valve. House wants to remove the valve and then cure the marrow in order to transplant. However, during surgery, they find that the growth was only fibrous tissue. Now they believe that Maddy might have an autoimmune disease. After Foreman convinces the parents to use a lower matching donor, Maddy begins to bleed from his ear and Nick has graft vs. host disease.
Maddy and Nick are two brothers brought in for a bone marrow transplant. Nick has leukemia and Maddy's marrow will cure it; however, when he sneezes before the operation, House is brought to figure out what the infection is within 4-5 days, which is how long Nick has to live without an immune system. House wants to make Maddy sicker to figure out what he has and then treat it. They find that his scrotum is inflamed as well. The infection is now in his mitral valve. House wants to remove the valve and then cure the marrow in order to transplant. However, during surgery, they find that the growth was only fibrous tissue. Now they believe that Maddy might have an autoimmune disease. After Foreman convinces the parents to use a lower matching donor, Maddy begins to bleed from his ear and Nick has graft vs. host disease.
Diagnosed Disease: Histoplasmosis & Graft vs Host Disease - Fungal infection found in bird droppings; transplant organ attacks the host, in this case the immune cells formed in the transplanted bone marrow attacked Nick's body as foreign
SymptomsFever, headache, chills, flu-like symptoms
Variety of autoimmune symptoms as the transplanted immune cells attack the host body and extreme pain |
CausesExposure to bird or bat droppings
Usually occurs in incompatible bone marrow transplants. |
TestsBiopsies and blood tests can test for spores and environment factors can suggest it as a possible diagnosis
Usually obvious as the patient deteriorates, indicating autoimmune attack. |
Treatment/CureDepending on the severity, anti-fungals are administered.
Corticosteriods are given to suppress the immune response. |
Source Links: Mayo Clinic, Wiki
Episode 22 - Resignation
Brief Plot Summary
Addy is admitted after suddenly coughing up blood while practicing martial arts. They run a stress test to check for bleeding in the heart and realize she has goosebumps even when she's not cold. House now thinks she has an infection. When she can't breathe, they find she had a pleural effusion. Suddenly, she has extreme tissue death as a part of her skull disintegrates exposing her brain. They give her steroids because they believe it could be autoimmune. Her kidneys shut down indicating it could be complement factor H deficiency. However, when House notices that she had no change in expression after she was told she would die, he realizes she tried to kill herself using kitchen cleaner. The gel capsule she took it in burned a hole in her stomach which lead to scar tissue bridging a gap from her vein to her artery leading to a full body infection which caused the other symptoms. A surgery was done to fix the bridge and her parents were told so they could treat Addy's depression.
Addy is admitted after suddenly coughing up blood while practicing martial arts. They run a stress test to check for bleeding in the heart and realize she has goosebumps even when she's not cold. House now thinks she has an infection. When she can't breathe, they find she had a pleural effusion. Suddenly, she has extreme tissue death as a part of her skull disintegrates exposing her brain. They give her steroids because they believe it could be autoimmune. Her kidneys shut down indicating it could be complement factor H deficiency. However, when House notices that she had no change in expression after she was told she would die, he realizes she tried to kill herself using kitchen cleaner. The gel capsule she took it in burned a hole in her stomach which lead to scar tissue bridging a gap from her vein to her artery leading to a full body infection which caused the other symptoms. A surgery was done to fix the bridge and her parents were told so they could treat Addy's depression.
Diagnosed Disease: Attempted suicide cause by Depression - complications explained in summary
Symptomspersistent sadness, hopelessness, fatigue, insomnia and many others
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CausesCombination of genetic, psychological and environmental factors.
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TestsSimply based off of symptoms.
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TreatmentAntidepressant in combination with therapy can usually help most people escape depression.
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Source Links: WebMD
Episode 23 - The Jerk
Brief Plot Summary
Nate is admitted after beating another kids head in while having a massive headache. Foreman thinks it's adrenal carcinoma while House believes it's cluster headaches. When they go to take a pituitary biopsy, Nate suddenly faints and they find jaundice meaning his liver is failing. They think it could be a liver enzyme deficiency and check his urine after eating meat for ammonia. They find blood in his urine, meaning that his kidneys are shutting down. They think its amyloidosis and put him on immunosuppressants. When House realizes his joints hurt he diagnoses hemochromatosis.
Nate is admitted after beating another kids head in while having a massive headache. Foreman thinks it's adrenal carcinoma while House believes it's cluster headaches. When they go to take a pituitary biopsy, Nate suddenly faints and they find jaundice meaning his liver is failing. They think it could be a liver enzyme deficiency and check his urine after eating meat for ammonia. They find blood in his urine, meaning that his kidneys are shutting down. They think its amyloidosis and put him on immunosuppressants. When House realizes his joints hurt he diagnoses hemochromatosis.
Diagnosed Disease: Hemochromatosis - A condition where the body is genetically predisposed to absorbing too much iron causing iron buildup which is poisonous to the organs
SymptomsHeadaches, joint pain, fatigue, organ failure
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CausesA hereditary disease caused by a mutation in the HFE gene. Can also be caused as a secondary complication from another disease
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TestsTesting blood for high levels of serum transferrin and ferritin. An MRI and test for gene mutations can also be performed.
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Treatment/CureRemoving blood from the patient's body is an effective way of treating the disease.
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Source Links: Mayo Clinic
Episode 24 - Human Error
Brief Plot Summary
Marina and her husband, Esteban, travel to see Dr. House from Cuba. Chase believes it's an infection but House and the rest of the team believe it's cancer. They perform a PET scan and find a clot in her arm, leading them to believe it's a heart problem. While performing a standard angiogram, Marina's heart stops but she remains conscious. They finally put her on bypass and tell the Esteban that it's over. When they turn off the machine, Marina's heart suddenly starts beating again. House predicts some kind of congenital defect and wants to run the angiogram again. During the angiogram, they find a third coronary ostium which only causes infections and clots. A simple surgery will fix her.
Marina and her husband, Esteban, travel to see Dr. House from Cuba. Chase believes it's an infection but House and the rest of the team believe it's cancer. They perform a PET scan and find a clot in her arm, leading them to believe it's a heart problem. While performing a standard angiogram, Marina's heart stops but she remains conscious. They finally put her on bypass and tell the Esteban that it's over. When they turn off the machine, Marina's heart suddenly starts beating again. House predicts some kind of congenital defect and wants to run the angiogram again. During the angiogram, they find a third coronary ostium which only causes infections and clots. A simple surgery will fix her.
Diagnosed Disease: Congenital Heart Defect (third ostium) - An ostium is an opening for blood to flow through to the coronary arteries at the base of the aorta. The extra ostium is a problem site that leads to infection and clots.
*Note: this was a theoretical malformation that may not be so critical if observed as a case. Due to this reason, symptoms are not really known, cause is at birth malformation, tests include echos and angiograms, and the treatment is surgery.
*Note: this was a theoretical malformation that may not be so critical if observed as a case. Due to this reason, symptoms are not really known, cause is at birth malformation, tests include echos and angiograms, and the treatment is surgery.