| abstract
| - Gas Guzzling Greatness is case #5 of House M.D. - Critical Cases. Motocross racer Tre Davis collapses after an argument with his wife, Erin. The emergency room treats a head laceration from the fall, and notices he has blisters on his fingers, but can find no explanation for Tre's collapse. The case is referred to Gregory House. Chase thinks that it is a routine case of carbon monoxide poisoning, but this wouldn't explain the blisters. Tre is also obiously over his head in debt, and House thinks it might be stress. He orders an environmental scan. The environmental scan finds several empty cans of alka-pops, a high sugar, high caffeine drink that also is used to settle stomach problems. After using 2 gauze and $400 of budget, they realize that if Tre has stomach problems, they must be long term, ruling out a short term problem like gastroenteritis. House orders another environmental scan. This time, the doctors have to use flashlights, but find a catalytic converter. After using a ward favor and 4 digestive meds, they rule out dementia. House finally agrees with Chase and orders treatment for heavy metal poisoning - 6 head meds, a ward favor an an oxygen mask. However, Tre doesn't improve. He starts having trouble breathing, his fingers turn cold from lack of circulation, and he loses consciousness. Tre goes code blue and has to be defibrillated A first round of imaging shows the patient doesn't have kidney stones or gallstones. After using two ward favors and $450 of budget, they rule out choledocholithiasis. Another round of imaging shows inflammation of the esophagus typical of inhaling or swallowing a caustic liquid. After treating Tre with 2 IV bags, they rule out sarcoidosis as the inflammation would be more widespread. A third round of imaging rules out the possibility of recent head trauma despite a medical history of concussion. After using a ward favor, an oxygen mask and 8 digestive meds, the team rules out a brain aneurysm. House visits the patient and smells a whiff of diesel fuel. He confronts the patient, accusing him of trying to commit suicide by drinking gasoline. Despite the patient's denials, House treats him for diesel poisoning with 2 ward favors and 8 chemical meds. However, the treatment is ineffective. Tre once again goes code blue and has to be defibrillated. A further environmental scan finds cigarette butts. After treating with 12 head meds, they are able to rule out a pulmonary embolism because Tre would not have been able to inhale a cigarette with that condition. A blood analysis finds a buildup of plaque. After using 2 ward favors, 2 gauze to treat the blistered fingers and using $475 of the budget, they realize that Tre has no stroke markers. This rules out ischemic stroke. House treats the patient for internal burns of the esophagus and lungs by using 1 ward favor, 1 syringe, 11 body meds and spending $475 of the budget. Tre starts to improve. After he starts to recover, the doctors confront him. After sending his wife out of the room, he admits to both siphoning gasoline and smoking with his friends. His wife had threatened to divorce him if she found him smoking again, which is why he didn't tell them. His airways were damaged when he accidentally swallowed gasoline trying to siphon it, then lit up.
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