Deception (House)

"Deception" is the ninth episode of the second season of House, which premiered on the Fox network on December 13, 2005. After House is replaced temporarily by Foreman as department head, problems arise as House tries to make life miserable for him.

Plot

Eric Foreman is temporarily the head of the diagnostics department which irritates House. He complains to Cuddy, but she reinforces Foreman's power. She tells Foreman that if someone makes a mistake, it's his problem, and that he won't be able to blame it on House. The team tries to diagnose an anemic woman named Anica (Cynthia Nixon) after she has a seizure. She has a bruise on her stomach and is admitted to the hospital with alcohol in her system. House thinks that she has Cushing's syndrome. Cameron thinks that Anica is injecting herself with Adrenocorticotropic hormone, which causes Cushing's, because she has Münchausen syndrome. Cameron finds two notes at Anica's apartment for doctors' appointments. Cameron claims that multiple appointments with multiple doctors is a sure sign of Münchausen's. House still doesn't believe Cameron. In order to prove herself right she puts antibiotics on a desk in front of Anica with a warning label that says dangerous. Foreman then gets a call that Anica's urine has turned orange, which confirms the Munchausen's diagnosis because it means Anica took the antibiotic Cameron had baited her with, despite the warnings.

The team is convinced that she has Münchausen's and wants to discharge her. House suggests Münchausen's and aplastic anemia, but Foreman won't allow him to do any more tests. Before Anica leaves the hospital, he tells her that she has aplastic anemia. House tells her that he needs to inject her with a drug, Colchicine, that will make her seem sick in order to confirm his diagnosis. House injects her with her consent and then walks back inside. Anica collapses and begins convulsing. She is sent back to the hospital the next day and begins irradiation treatment.

Meanwhile House sits in Anica's room and notices a strange odor. After sniffing Anica's pillow and bra, he realizes that she has an infection and stops the treatment. There was no fever because the Cushing's suppressed her immune system. Cameron's dosing her with antibodics to prove her theory also suppressed symptoms that would've shown it earlier. House stops the irradiation, leads the team into the nuclear room and nicks Anica's torso, which gives the blade a fruity smell. The bruises that Cushing's gave her made a home for bacteria (Clostridium perfringens). She's treated for her infection and accepts out-patient treatment for her Münchausen's because her talk with House helped her come to terms with it, but it looks like she may have relapsed later. Foreman decides to take the job as head of the department, but House's actions convince Cuddy that keeping House in the job is the best thing to do, angering Foreman.

The episode ends with dual scenes of Anica getting admitted to another hospital due to a low white cell count - the side-effect of Colchicine - while House was simultaneously placing bets on races at OTB. The implication was that House was now supplying her with Colchicine, to accommodate her need for doctor attention, in exchange for horse-racing tips.

References

External links

• "Deception" at Fox.com
• "Deception" at the Internet Movie Database
• "Deception" at TV.com