Station/Agent

Station/Agent is case #6 in House M.D. - Critical Cases.
John Gardiner, a 36-year-old New Jersey Rail builder, was brought to the hospital by his wife Mary after she visited him at work and saw his fingers were turning purple. On admission, his ears were purple as well, and he had tachycardia. After a differential diagnosis, House orders a full battery of tests.
An environmental scan of the subway car he was working in found a broken fluorescent light bulb, bringing up the possibility of mercury poisoning. After using 1 ward favor, 2 thermometers, and 6 head meds, they notice the patient is also sweating. This rules out Sjögren's syndrome.
The blood analysis shows damage to the blood vessels. After using 1 oxygen mask and 8 digestive meds, they manage to rule out toxemia.
Imaging confirms that the tachycardia is a symptom and not the underlying condition. After using 10 body meds and $500 of budget, the team rules out supraventricular tachycardia.
The only condition that appears to be left is mercury poisoning from the broken light bulb. However, after preparing for the treatment with 5 heart meds, 2 ward favors, and a syringe, Mary notices John's gums are bleeding. He admits that he hid this from the doctors in an attempt to be discharged quickly. However, the bleeding gums and a new symptom, fever, rule out mercury poisoning.
John goes code blue and has to be defibrillated.
House orders another environmental scan. This time, the team finds a box of watches, most of which are contaminated with levamisole, a veterinary medicine. After using 2 ward favors, spending $500 of the budget, and using 3 IV bags, the team realizes the patient's sweating is a long term condition, which rules out the flu, which is short term.
A further blood analysis showed that John had a low neutrophil count, but his other blood cells were normal. After administering 12 heart meds, they realized the lack of his immune response couldn't be the result of mild radiation sickness as that would have caused more cell damage.
John was treated for levamisole poisoning with dialysis at a cost of 2 ward favors, 10 gland meds, 3 gauze, and $500 of budget.
John soon improved. Dr. House confronted John. In front of Mary, House said at first he believed John was a cocaine addict, but after realizing he had no symptoms of cocaine use, he realized that he had been exposed to levamisole by smuggling cocaine. John admitted that he was in league with cocaine smugglers, who he allowed to use the tunnels at night to allow them to smuggle drugs into Manhattan through the subway tunnels. He also admitted to helping to move furs and jewellery, but denied ever touching the cocaine. House realized that John had absorbed the levamisole through his skin. John tried to explain that he did it to buy nice things for Mary, but Mary said she had married John because he was honest and this changed her opinion of him.
Category:Critical Cases