Good Episodes of House, M.D.: Occam's Razor

From a medical science standpoint, this is a pretty solid episode (there are the usual missteps that I chalk up to television being television). The patient, Brandon, presents with an unusual set of symptoms that the team cannot explain with one disease. House initially proposes that there are two processes going on: a sinus infection and hypothyroidism. Foreman brings up Occam's Razor, the philosophical principle that has been adopted in medicine as "the simplest explanation is often the most likely one." The principle of Occam's Razor is actually more accurately described as, when facing competing hypotheses, the one that makes the fewest new assumptions should be selected.

Anyway, Brandon starts to feel a little better and then his white blood cell count drops dangerously low and is put into isolation. After finding inspiration in almost picking up the wrong bottle on a Vicodin run, House spends quite a bit of time considering a new hypothesis. He admits that the principle of Occam's Razor still held and that colchicine poisoning due to a pharmacy mix-up for cough medicine explains all the symptoms. Additionally, Brandon got worse because someone continued to give Brandon his "cough medicine". The team hits a snag when Brandon's mother claims that the cough medicine was a round and yellow pill, just like the correct pill at the pharmacy. After some moping around and doubt, House sees that Brandon's worsening condition matches the progression of colchicine poisoning and bluffs that Brandon must have used ecstasy in the past which might be cut with with colchicine. The treatment for colchicine poisoning is started and Brandon improves.

Meanwhile, House, dissatisfied with the ecstasy explanation digs through the pharmacy for the different forms of colchicine. In another scene, Brandon comments on how the cough medicine Cameron gives him has a letter on them which his old ones do not. In the pharmacy, the determined House finds the colchicine pill that looks similar to the cough medicine.

On a side note, one of my favorite clinic patients appeared in this episode:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiAyIBoQiRo