What is Poisoning this Mobster Boss? | House M.D.

Added: 2026-05-28

[00:00:00]got served with a federal court order.

[00:00:01]Some witness went into a coma maine and want me to take a look at him.

[00:00:05]>> What?

[00:00:07]They want you to examine a sick person?

[00:00:11]This is a public relations nightmare.

[00:00:13]Folk think our staff do that kind of thing around here. This place will be crawling with sick people.

[00:00:18]>> I'm a doctor. I'm not a lap dog for the feds. I don't play fetch.

[00:00:21]>> Nobody tells you what to do. Am I right, Dr. Cuddy?

[00:00:25]>> You have three choices. Hire a lawyer to fight the order, treat the guy, or go to jail for contempt. Up to you.

[00:00:32]>> Jail? You'd like that? A more naughty school girl. Conjugal visit. That's her new fantasy.

[00:00:44]>> These look like pseudo membranes. Those take time to form. If it's an old injury, wouldn't cause the coma.

[00:00:51]>> Patient history indicates he was hit with a tire iron in 1996.

[00:00:54]Brother says he was changing a tire and it slipped.

[00:00:57]>> An old hematoma placed where this one is. Could have caused his coma.

[00:01:00]>> What about his liver?

[00:01:01]>> Our lips are slightly elevated.

[00:01:03]>> Key word is slightly as in not high enough to cause the coma. It's the subjural.

[00:01:07]>> I say we evacuate the cavity. See if he wakes up.

[00:01:10]>> The neurologist thinks it's his brain who wants to open up his head. Frankly, I'm shocked. And you get to use the big boy drill and daddy's big red toolbox.

[00:01:18]>> No drilling.

[00:01:24]Hi, Mr. Smith.

[00:01:27]>> Call me Joe. Can you not do that?

[00:01:34]>> So, we're clear about the no drilling.

[00:01:39]>> He's okay now and can leave.

[00:01:41]>> I'm not releasing him because the brother doesn't want you to >> or because he had an unexplained coma, which sounds better. The hematoma caused the coma. It's a catchy diagnosis. You could dance to that. I think Chase is right.

[00:01:57]We still should be evacuated, but it's not an immediate threat.

[00:02:06]>> Cameron's my girl.

[00:02:08]>> I'd release him.

[00:02:08]>> Started fast now.

[00:02:13]>> 35year-old male vital signs are stable now. Gave him 2 lers in room.

[00:02:20]>> Just released 2 hours ago.

[00:02:23]You said he was good to go.

[00:02:25]>> Watch that line.

[00:02:26]>> He's still not responding.

[00:02:31]>> So, the junior Gman badge is looking so good.

[00:02:37]>> Sudden onset equals approximate cause.

[00:02:39]He also has high estrogen levels in his blood. That's indicative of a chronic condition, not acute. One test. What do other liver tests tell us?

[00:02:47]>> Normal albamin levels point toward acute.

[00:02:51]>> Okay. And uh why is her test better than mine? Because she's cuter.

[00:02:56]No, it's close.

[00:02:59]Do a liver biopsy. When the results come back, we'll know what we're looking at.

[00:03:02]Why? Wait to treat the hips. If I'm right, Joey gets better that much faster. Right. Then he gets to testify and you get a gold star from Cuddy. And what's the downside? Or is that the downside?

[00:03:14]>> Do I have a reason for not wanting you to get any stars?

[00:03:19]Fine. Start the treatment. It's all your idea. Don't even mention my name.

[00:03:25]There's nothing wrong with your theory.

[00:03:26]Go.

[00:03:28]>> The blood tests show you have hepatitis C. It's a virus that infects the liver.

[00:03:33]>> No way.

[00:03:35]>> Well, it's not all bad news. It can often be cured. And even if not, it's manageable. Now, >> how would my brother get this?

[00:03:41]>> Usually involves the exchange of bodily fluids. Either >> bodily fluids? What are you talking about?

[00:03:45]>> There are many ways the virus can be transmitted. Sharing needles, blood.

[00:03:48]Hey, nobody talks to my brother like this.

[00:03:52]Okay, >> fine. No idea how he got it, but he has hepatitis C. We're going to start him on.

[00:04:00]>> He doesn't have it. Don't mention it again. Don't treat him for it.

[00:04:06]>> Nobody's saying he's a homo. That would be really, really bad. So, let's put a nice friendly spin on it. Let's go with he got raped in prison. I saw the jail house tats. put it together with the blood tests.

[00:04:21]>> There were rumors, but Joey never said anything about it.

[00:04:25]If people find out he's being treated for Pepsi, feds get that charge, someone says something to somebody, word will get out and then Joey's manhood is rep, he's destroyed.

[00:04:40]>> You're worried about how his co-workers will react at the Walmart in De Mo.

[00:04:44]>> He's not going into witness protection.

[00:04:45]And I'm not going to let that happen.

[00:04:50]>> Listen, I don't know if you know about this, but mob businesses sometimes keep two sets of books.

[00:04:56]>> One legit, one not.

[00:04:58]>> Exactly.

[00:05:02]>> You joking my chain.

[00:05:04]>> Doctors are busy sometimes. They forget to write things down. Happens all the time.

[00:05:09]>> Thanks.

[00:05:12]Oh, and uh whatever you're not giving him for whatever he doesn't have, is that going to fix him?

[00:05:23]I doubt it.

[00:05:32]What types of comas do you just snap out of? He's not snapping out of this one.

[00:05:37]He's not improving.

[00:05:39]You've crossed out estrogen.

[00:05:41]You got an explanation?

[00:05:42]>> Yes, I have. Very simple one.

[00:05:45]>> And it's private.

[00:05:52]>> You think I'm the one running to Vogler?

[00:05:57]>> You're currently top of the list.

[00:06:01]Toxic comas. Persons away from the cause long enough they recover.

[00:06:05]>> The feds check for poisons. We check for poisons. I didn't do it. It's not a poison then.

[00:06:12]>> An allergy.

[00:06:15]>> Did you hear me?

[00:06:16]>> What about a food sensitivity?

[00:06:18]>> All his food is strictly controlled.

[00:06:20]There's no correlation between his meals and his condition. He had steak and potatoes before the first coma and the hospital served fish sticks before the second one.

[00:06:31]You can trust me.

[00:06:34]Problem is, if I can't trust you, I can't trust your statement that I can trust you. But thanks anyway. You've been a big help.

[00:06:43]You paid the marshall off.

[00:06:46]>> I didn't pay him to poison my brother.

[00:06:48]>> No, just worked out that way.

[00:06:51]>> Gave the guy some money to bring in some decent food.

[00:06:54]>> Better than fish sticks. I'm thinking steak.

[00:06:57]>> We asked for pasta. Those stupid feds.

[00:07:00]>> Steak before both comas.

[00:07:03]Your brother has ornithine transcarba deficiency. Want me to write it down?

[00:07:09]Good, cuz it takes a while. It's genetic. Can present at any time. If the patient eats a large amount of protein, especially if he's not used to it.

[00:07:17]>> But that's it. He just stays off the red meat and he's going to be fine.

[00:07:21]>> Yes. If I'm right, we stop the current treatment, he gets better. If we stop the current treatment and I'm wrong, he dies.

[00:07:28]>> Why would you be wrong?

[00:07:30]>> His estrogen level. OTD doesn't explain his estrogen level. But I have a theory.

[00:07:38]There is one chemical that if ingested can cause a person's estrogen level to increase dramatically.

[00:07:44]>> What is it?

[00:07:45]>> It's called estrogen.

[00:07:48]>> Joey's taking estrogen. What? He wants a sex change.

[00:07:52]>> No, nothing like that. It's called male flame.

[00:07:58]It's probably more consumer friendly in the original Chinese.

[00:08:02]It's an herbal aphrodesiac marketed to gay men.

[00:08:05]>> Oh, here we go.

[00:08:06]>> And sold on the same website that sells his chai lozenes. Guess what's in it?

[00:08:11]>> Starts with an e.

[00:08:13]>> You want to get hit, too?

[00:08:15]>> Tech would be quite a trick. He slapped me so hard his brother turned straight.

[00:08:20]Joey's a big- time mobster. Guys like that don't get raped in prison. They get gifts. They get food, drugs, cigarettes, cable TV.

[00:08:32]>> Joey is not gay.

[00:08:35]>> Maybe not gay, but certainly delightful.

[00:08:38]You, on the other hand, hitting a doctor, even if it was only Chase and asking another one to keep Joey's chart fresh and homore free. That's a bit of an overreaction, would you say? It's almost like you're scared that it might be true.

[00:08:52]>> You're wrong.

[00:08:54]Okay, then don't stop the treatment.

[00:09:00]But if you're wrong, he dies.

[00:09:09]You want to testify?

[00:09:12]>> Go ahead.

[00:09:14]>> I told the doc. He said it's okay.

[00:09:18]>> I don't expect you to understand.

[00:09:20]>> I don't All I need to know is you're my brother, Joey.

[00:09:31]If you think this thing, whatever, is going to make you happy, I think you should do it.

[00:09:47]You should.