Airborne (House)
Encyclopedia
"Airborne" is the eighteenth episode of the third season of House
, the sixty-fourth episode overall.
) is returning from a pandemic
s symposium in Singapore
with Lisa Cuddy
(Lisa Edelstein
). During the flight
, a Korean
man by the name of Peng (Jamison Yang) sitting next to House begins vomiting. He also presents with fever
, headache
, abdominal pain
and petechial rashes
on his lower back
. Cuddy notes that these are classic symptom
s of Meningococcus
and that an outbreak
of the disease
might be imminent. Because of their flight path, they must turn back immediately or they will be unable to get medical attention. House is not convinced there is a problem, and persuades the flight crew not to turn the plane around.
Soon another passenger becomes ill with the same symptoms. House assembles a makeshift diagnostic team with three passengers: a boy House instructs to agree with everything he says (thus mimicking Chase), a man, who doesn't speak English, instructed to disagree with everything he says (imitating Foreman), and a woman instructed to get morally outraged at everything he says (as Cameron does). After a discussion with his "team", House is convinced that both passengers are sick with Ciguatera
poisoning because they both ate seafood. He announces to the rest of the passengers who ate seafood should go to the restroom and vomit.
However this theory is contradicted by Cuddy, who is showing similar symptoms despite having not eaten the sea bass. House tells the stewardess to tell the passengers not to worry, but three more people apparently succumb to the same illness. Without any medicine, House collects what antibiotics he can from the passengers. Cuddy then persuades House to do a lumbar puncture
to find out whether the illness is meningitis
. House does the test, which comes back negative. When Cuddy begins to shout at House to cure the sickness quickly, he realizes that she and the rest of the plane are suffering from mass hysteria. He tests this theory by suggesting the passengers that one symptom is uncontrollable trembling of the left hand, which many of them immediately start to exhibit.
Peng, however, is still dying, and House believes it is because the man is a drug mule
and has cocaine
in his system, and prepares to operate. As his "team" holds Peng down, House realizes that the man's pain is eased by pressure
. Searching through Peng's wallet, he finds a scuba license and a receipt for scuba gear rental, dated the previous day. Peng is diagnosed with decompression sickness
, caused by surfacing too quickly when diving, which was further worsened by boarding an airplane, which is pressurized to 8000 feet above sea level
. House tells the flight crew to drop the plane below 5000 feet and get Peng oxygen, and he will be fine.
Meanwhile, at the hospital, a 58 year old woman, Fran (Jenny O'Hara), has been admitted with unexplained seizure
s and vision loss
. With her is Robin (Meta Golding
), an outcall prostitute who had just met Fran, but who stays at the behest of Wilson, who is leading House's team. After lying about where she was, Fran admits that she just arrived from a trip to Caracas
, where she had unprotected sex and used cocaine. Chase and Cameron visit Fran's house to search for clues, but are distracted by the allure of an empty bed. They return without a diagnosis, leaving Foreman with the belief Fran is bleeding into her brain, the solution for which is a hole in her head to relieve the pressure. Chase, however, realizes neither Fran nor her cat have eaten in the last few days, and goes back to the house to find that when the neighbors had their home fumigated, some of the poison entered Fran's house. Fran is diagnosed with methyl bromide toxicity, and the procedure is stopped before it goes too far. After she is cured Wilson calls Robin to tell her what was wrong with Fran and to ask Robin if she is planning to come back to the hospital.
At the end of the episode, Chase (Jesse Spencer
) suggests that he and Cameron (Jennifer Morrison
) take their relationship to the next level. Cameron responds that all she was looking for was sex
, and says "It was fun. That's it. And now it's over."
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
, the sixty-fourth episode overall.
Plot
House (Hugh LaurieHugh Laurie
James Hugh Calum Laurie, OBE , better known as Hugh Laurie , is an English actor, voice artist, comedian, writer, musician, recording artist, and director...
) is returning from a pandemic
Pandemic
A pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that is spreading through human populations across a large region; for instance multiple continents, or even worldwide. A widespread endemic disease that is stable in terms of how many people are getting sick from it is not a pandemic...
s symposium in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
with Lisa Cuddy
Lisa Cuddy
Dr. Lisa Cuddy, M.D., is a fictional character on the Fox medical drama House. She is portrayed by Lisa Edelstein. Cuddy was the Dean of Medicine and hospital administrator of the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in New Jersey. She also becomes House's love interest through the...
(Lisa Edelstein
Lisa Edelstein
Lisa Edelstein is an American actress and playwright. She is best known for her role as Dr. Lisa Cuddy on the television drama House.-Early life and education:...
). During the flight
Flight
Flight is the process by which an object moves either through an atmosphere or beyond it by generating lift or propulsive thrust, or aerostatically using buoyancy, or by simple ballistic movement....
, a Korean
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
man by the name of Peng (Jamison Yang) sitting next to House begins vomiting. He also presents with fever
Fever
Fever is a common medical sign characterized by an elevation of temperature above the normal range of due to an increase in the body temperature regulatory set-point. This increase in set-point triggers increased muscle tone and shivering.As a person's temperature increases, there is, in...
, headache
Headache
A headache or cephalalgia is pain anywhere in the region of the head or neck. It can be a symptom of a number of different conditions of the head and neck. The brain tissue itself is not sensitive to pain because it lacks pain receptors. Rather, the pain is caused by disturbance of the...
, abdominal pain
Abdominal pain
Abdominal pain can be one of the symptoms associated with transient disorders or serious disease. Making a definitive diagnosis of the cause of abdominal pain can be difficult, because many diseases can result in this symptom. Abdominal pain is a common problem...
and petechial rashes
Purpura
Purpura is the appearance of red or purple discolorations on the skin that do not blanch on applying pressure. They are caused by bleeding underneath the skin...
on his lower back
Back
- People :* Adam Back, British cryptographer* Charles Back, South African winemaker* Chris Back , Australian politician* Ernst Emil Alexander Back , German physicist* Frédéric Back , Canadian animator...
. Cuddy notes that these are classic symptom
Symptom
A symptom is a departure from normal function or feeling which is noticed by a patient, indicating the presence of disease or abnormality...
s of Meningococcus
Neisseria meningitidis
Neisseria meningitidis, often referred to as meningococcus, is a bacterium that can cause meningitis and other forms of meningococcal disease such as meningococcemia, a life threatening sepsis. N. meningitidis is a major cause of morbidity and mortality during childhood in industrialized countries...
and that an outbreak
Outbreak
Outbreak is a term used in epidemiology to describe an occurrence of disease greater than would otherwise be expected at a particular time and place. It may affect a small and localized group or impact upon thousands of people across an entire continent. Two linked cases of a rare infectious...
of the disease
Disease
A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...
might be imminent. Because of their flight path, they must turn back immediately or they will be unable to get medical attention. House is not convinced there is a problem, and persuades the flight crew not to turn the plane around.
Soon another passenger becomes ill with the same symptoms. House assembles a makeshift diagnostic team with three passengers: a boy House instructs to agree with everything he says (thus mimicking Chase), a man, who doesn't speak English, instructed to disagree with everything he says (imitating Foreman), and a woman instructed to get morally outraged at everything he says (as Cameron does). After a discussion with his "team", House is convinced that both passengers are sick with Ciguatera
Ciguatera
Ciguatera is a foodborne illness caused by eating certain reef fishes whose flesh is contaminated with toxins originally produced by dinoflagellates such as Gambierdiscus toxicus which lives in tropical and subtropical waters. These dinoflagellates adhere to coral, algae and seaweed, where they are...
poisoning because they both ate seafood. He announces to the rest of the passengers who ate seafood should go to the restroom and vomit.
However this theory is contradicted by Cuddy, who is showing similar symptoms despite having not eaten the sea bass. House tells the stewardess to tell the passengers not to worry, but three more people apparently succumb to the same illness. Without any medicine, House collects what antibiotics he can from the passengers. Cuddy then persuades House to do a lumbar puncture
Lumbar puncture
A lumbar puncture is a diagnostic and at times therapeutic procedure that is performed in order to collect a sample of cerebrospinal fluid for biochemical, microbiological, and cytological analysis, or very rarely as a treatment to relieve increased intracranial pressure.-Indications:The...
to find out whether the illness is meningitis
Meningitis
Meningitis is inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, known collectively as the meninges. The inflammation may be caused by infection with viruses, bacteria, or other microorganisms, and less commonly by certain drugs...
. House does the test, which comes back negative. When Cuddy begins to shout at House to cure the sickness quickly, he realizes that she and the rest of the plane are suffering from mass hysteria. He tests this theory by suggesting the passengers that one symptom is uncontrollable trembling of the left hand, which many of them immediately start to exhibit.
Peng, however, is still dying, and House believes it is because the man is a drug mule
Mule (smuggling)
A mule or courier is someone who smuggles something with him or her across a national border, including bringing in to and out of an international plane, especially a small amount, transported for a smuggling organization. The organizers employ mules to reduce the risk of getting caught...
and has cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...
in his system, and prepares to operate. As his "team" holds Peng down, House realizes that the man's pain is eased by pressure
Pressure
Pressure is the force per unit area applied in a direction perpendicular to the surface of an object. Gauge pressure is the pressure relative to the local atmospheric or ambient pressure.- Definition :...
. Searching through Peng's wallet, he finds a scuba license and a receipt for scuba gear rental, dated the previous day. Peng is diagnosed with decompression sickness
Decompression sickness
Decompression sickness describes a condition arising from dissolved gases coming out of solution into bubbles inside the body on depressurization...
, caused by surfacing too quickly when diving, which was further worsened by boarding an airplane, which is pressurized to 8000 feet above sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
. House tells the flight crew to drop the plane below 5000 feet and get Peng oxygen, and he will be fine.
Meanwhile, at the hospital, a 58 year old woman, Fran (Jenny O'Hara), has been admitted with unexplained seizure
Seizure
An epileptic seizure, occasionally referred to as a fit, is defined as a transient symptom of "abnormal excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain". The outward effect can be as dramatic as a wild thrashing movement or as mild as a brief loss of awareness...
s and vision loss
Vision loss
Vision loss or visual loss is the absence of vision where it existed before, which can happen either acutely or chronically .-Ranges of vision loss:...
. With her is Robin (Meta Golding
Meta Golding
Meta Golding is an American actress. Golding was raised in several countries. Besides the United States, Golding also lived in countries such as India, France and Italy. During her years in Italy, she competed on ice as an Italian national figure skater, but when an injury ended her skating career...
), an outcall prostitute who had just met Fran, but who stays at the behest of Wilson, who is leading House's team. After lying about where she was, Fran admits that she just arrived from a trip to Caracas
Caracas
Caracas , officially Santiago de León de Caracas, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela; natives or residents are known as Caraquenians in English . It is located in the northern part of the country, following the contours of the narrow Caracas Valley on the Venezuelan coastal mountain range...
, where she had unprotected sex and used cocaine. Chase and Cameron visit Fran's house to search for clues, but are distracted by the allure of an empty bed. They return without a diagnosis, leaving Foreman with the belief Fran is bleeding into her brain, the solution for which is a hole in her head to relieve the pressure. Chase, however, realizes neither Fran nor her cat have eaten in the last few days, and goes back to the house to find that when the neighbors had their home fumigated, some of the poison entered Fran's house. Fran is diagnosed with methyl bromide toxicity, and the procedure is stopped before it goes too far. After she is cured Wilson calls Robin to tell her what was wrong with Fran and to ask Robin if she is planning to come back to the hospital.
At the end of the episode, Chase (Jesse Spencer
Jesse Spencer
Jesse Gordon Spencer is an Australian actor and musician. He is best known for his current portrayal of Dr. Robert Chase on the medical drama House and for playing Billy Kennedy in the Australian soap-opera Neighbours....
) suggests that he and Cameron (Jennifer Morrison
Jennifer Morrison
Jennifer Marie Morrison is an American actress, model and film producer. She is best known for her role as Dr. Allison Cameron in House, whom she played for five-and-a-half years, and also as Zoey Pierson in the sixth season of How I Met Your Mother...
) take their relationship to the next level. Cameron responds that all she was looking for was sex
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
, and says "It was fun. That's it. And now it's over."