House orders a biopsy to confirm.Īs the team gets ready to perform the biopsy, Kutner notices a rash on Thirteen's wrist, where some of the patient's urine had spilled. Foreman suggests that the liver, kidney and eye point towards sclerosing cholangitis. Thirteen suggests that the dying liver released toxins which led to locked-in syndrome. They bring him back, but his foot starts to itch, which he manages to communicate to the team after several questions. During the lumbar puncture however, the patient crashes. Cameron suggests the team does a lumbar puncture, noting that polys (polymorphonuclear leukocytes) would mean it's varicella, and lymphs, Behçet's. Thirteen notices that he has a tear in the epithelial cells in his eye, and a fluorescein stain reveals ulcerative keratitis. Unbeknownst to his wife, he was moonlighting as a janitor, where he was exposed to cadmium, leading the team to believe that he has heavy metal poisoning. Further investigation reveals that the patient has stayed at a friend's home, in order to maintain the facade of a successful business. Because he is unable to explain himself, his wife concludes that he has had an affair. Communicating via yes or no (up for yes and down for no) on the computer, the team takes the patient's history. It takes the patient a while, but he finally manages to shift the arrow up, showing he's still mentally present. Taub suggests they should use a brain–computer interface for communication with the patient. The team plans to do a brain biopsy on the new patient, but he loses his eyelid movement in the operation, and with that, his only way to communicate with the doctors.
Communicating through blinking, the patient requests transfer to Princeton Plainsboro. However, they could almost kill him, in which case it would confirm that the patient doesn't have an infection. House tells the patient if he has cancer, the antibiotics could kill him. However, the patient's attending thinks the patient has an infection and has him on antibiotics. Thirteen suggests a well-placed tumor, so the team does an MRI. House notices the patient following the doctors with his eyes, and is immediately interested in taking up his case. His attending doctor diagnoses brain death, and suggests transplanting his heart into another patient.
House is injured in a motorcycle accident in Middletown, New York, and finds himself in bed next to a patient ( Mos Def) suffering from locked-in syndrome after a bicycling accident. Other plot points focus on Wilson's attempts to discover why House was in Middletown, New York when he crashed, Wilson's new relationship, and the resolution of Taub's resignation from the previous episode. During the course of treatment, the team discovers several medically relevant secrets about the patient. After discovering the patient in an emergency room while being treated for injuries related to a motorbike crash, House's team move the patient to Princeton Plainsboro and attempts to diagnose him. Large portions of the episode are shown from the perspective of the patient, who retains consciousness but lacks the ability to move.
" Locked In" is the nineteenth episode of the fifth season of House. 19th episode of the fifth season of House " Locked In"