“TB or Not TB”
Episode #204
November 1, 2005
The hospital admits a renowned physician and advocate against the spread of tuberculosis in Africa, and his TB-like symptoms draw media attention which could further his cause. ~Yahoo Blurb
A doctor emerges from a plane, and provides TB medication to a poor African village. Back in the US, Dr. Sebastian Charles sits in a meeting with a pharmaceutical company, begging them to supply more TB medication to this part of the world. During this presentation, he collapses.
After speaking with Cuddy, Charles agrees that he has TB. But, House disagrees. Chase notices that something is up with his heart, and tests are ordered. Echo comes back fine, but something is off with his EKG. House wants to do a tilt-table test, much to the othe’s confusion. But the test reveals that Charles needs a pacemaker.
As he speaks with Cameron about working in Africa, he feels woozy, vomits, then passes out. More tests are ordered. Foreman thinks that something is wrong with his brain, and suggests a tumor. House orders an MRI, but it’s clean. The TB test results have come back, and it’s positive.
House isn’t surprised by these results. Charles is given medication to treat his TB. Seeing that these meds would cost someone $10K to take, he thinks of his patients in Africa, and refuses to take them. He says that if he dies from TB, it will bring more attention to his cause.
House continues down the list of possible ailments, and complains to Cuddy that Charles is refusing to be treated. She makes House aware that Charles has called a press conference to draw more attention to his struggle. She asks House to attend. He flies into a fury, grabbing Charles’ cell phone and tossing it into the toilet, trashes the tv, and turns over the contents of his room. House demands that if he’s going to not take treatment like a 3rd world patient, then he shouldn’t be using 1st world conveniences to call a press conference.
As the press conference goes on, House and Cameron look in from the other room. Because of heating from the ventilator, Charles shouldn’t be sweating. But, because of the lights in the room, he is. He should be red from the heat, but he’s not. Something isn’t right. House barges into the room, and tells the press that Charles doesn’t have TB.
Charles becomes disoriented, and his heart fails. House tries to shock him back to life. Later, House tells Charles that he has some symptoms of TB, but not others, including the issues with his heart. House offers TB meds to Charles to control what are the TB symptoms, but again he refuses. House tells him that he’ll let him die, and call a press conference of his own, explaining to the world that Charles did not die of TB. Charles gives in, and begins the meds, and tests.
With problems with his sugar still remaining after the TB is being treated, House suspects a tumor on his pancreas. Tests are run, and this is discovered to be the problem. Surgery is scheduled.
Later, Charles is given meds by Cameron. When asked to go to Africa with him, Cameron turns him down, saying that her interest is in House. As Charles leaves, House points out to Wilson that he is the one that saved his life, so Wilson should be credited with all the lives that Charles saves from this point forward.
