House, M.D.

House, M.D. (2004)

105 mistakes - chronological order

(4 votes)

Show generally

Continuity mistake: Most of the time, whenever House puts down his Nintendo DS, the angle at which it is bending changes. For example, in one shot, it is not bent at all and in the next it is almost closed.

Show generally

Deliberate mistake: When a patient who is given CPR is seen in the shot, the person giving the CPR does so with bent arms (the correct way to do it is with straight arms). This is deliberate, as straight-arm CPR puts in an amount of strength that frequently breaks ribs. Many films do CPR with bent arms rather than straight to avoid harming the actor.

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Factual error: There are several episodes where doctors continue to defibrillate a patient even after s/he flatlines. A flatline (asystole, where there is no electrical activity in the heart) cannot be corrected by defibrillation, which stops a heart that's in an abnormal rhythm and gives it a chance to start in a normal one (the heart has already stopped when there is a flatline).

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Factual error: In an episode with a severely overweight patient who is thought to have diabetes, it is discovered he instead has Chagas disease. Cameron then informs the patient that he acquired this illness from his food when, in fact, Chagas disease is a protozoan that is spread through the bite of the triatomine bug.

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Suggested correction: While the main vector for the infection is through the triatomine bug, Trypanosoma cruzi (the parasitic organism that causes the disease) can be transmitted through food, and thus Chagas was caused by the food the patient ate. It should also be noted that Trypanosoma cruzi is not transmitted by the bite of the triatomine bug, but rather through its feces, and it's only spreads once the feces enters the blood stream (which it can do through a bite site or scratching an open wound).

Bishop73

Show generally

Factual error: Every time there is a patient given a non-rebreather O2 mask, the bag is uninflated. The correct way of administering O2 through a NRB is to inflate the bag first, which would be the reservoir for the O2; a common mistake in many Hollywood medical shows.

House, M.D. mistake picture

Paternity - S1-E2

Revealing mistake: In the opening scene during the game, one of the shots of the boy is reversed. You can see that the text "Tartans" on his jersey is mirror imaged. (00:00:25)

Occam's Razor - S1-E3

Factual error: House is playing 'Metroid: Zero Mission' on his Gameboy at various times. The Metroid series does not feature space monkeys, nor are there distinct levels. The sounds coming from the game in the show do not match it in real life, and Samus morphing into a ball is most definitely not a failure state.

Occam's Razor - S1-E3

Factual error: The whole episode is caused by medications being mistaken for one another. But the reason why is actually impossible. The patient states that the pills he took (in error due to a switch) had no letter or marking on them. With few exceptions - none of which apply to the medication the patient took - the US FDA law states that all solid medications must have a letter and/or number on each pill which allows them to be identified. No pharmacist would ever give out blank pills.

Maternity - S1-E4

Factual error: House's team listed the potential offending organisms of the infection as "MRSA, H. Flu, VRE, and pseudomonas." House then suggests Vancomycin and Aztreonam. Vancomycin only covers gram (+) organisms and Aztreonam only covers gram (-) organisms. VRE is a gram (+) organism, thus it would not be covered by Aztreonam. VRE stands for vancomycin resistant enterococcus, thus it would not be covered by Vancomycin either. House's team therefore failed to cover for an offending organism that could have caused the infection during their initial differential. (00:09:10)

House, M.D. mistake picture

Maternity - S1-E4

Continuity mistake: Right at the end, baby Maxine and her parents exit the elevator, probably on their way home. The lily bouquet, first held by the dad, jumps into the nurse's arm consecutive shots. (00:39:30)

ployp

Maternity - S1-E4

Revealing mistake: The baby that opens the episode is a real one in the close shots and a doll in the others. First of all he doesn't move, and second, his skin colour is totally different.

Sacha

Maternity - S1-E4

Revealing mistake: Exactly ten minutes to the end, the couple with the baby Maxine are waiting to hear how she is doing. The mom and the husband are sitting on a bench outside the room in which their daughter is being treated. The mom lies down on her husband. She is supposed to have given birth only recently, so she still has a big tummy. As she lies against her husband, however, it is clear that she is wearing a prosthetic stomach: her blue T-shirt tucks and crinkles into and around it in a way that shows it is not an organic part of her.

Maternity - S1-E4

Continuity mistake: The first baby dies on December 2nd. House's clinic patient is four months pregnant, and is given an expected due date in late March. Her due date would actually be in early May, if she's in her fourth month in early December.

The Socratic Method - S1-E6

Continuity mistake: When House is talking to Luke about the Vitamin K deficiency and eating the hamburger, the lid on the ketchup bottle is closed on the shots facing House and open on the shots facing Luke.

House, M.D. mistake picture

Poison - S1-E8

Continuity mistake: Max's mom, without her glasses, runs out to call the nurse after Max starts seizing. Her glasses appear when she re-enters the room. (00:28:20)

ployp

More quotes from House, M.D.

Trivia: Hugh Laurie auditioned for the role as Dr. Gregory House in his hotel room bathroom in Namibia. He was rehearsing his role for the film The Flight of the Phoenix and claimed that the bathroom was the only place with enough light. He also apologized for his appearance on tape before the audition as he'd just come back from filming. The fact that House has a somewhat scruffy and unkempt look, particularly his constant five o'clock shadow, has been attributed by creator David Shore to Laurie's appearance in this audition tape.

More trivia for House, M.D.

Whatever It Takes - S4-E6

Question: In this episode, Cuddy gives House crap about lying that he was working for the CIA. Exactly how did a CIA helicopter land on the hospital roof, and the hospital's dean not notice it?

Answer: She would have No Reason to know it belonged to the CIA. If she did know he went off in the helicopter, all she would know is that it wasn't an ambulance helicopter.

Greg Dwyer

More questions & answers from House, M.D.

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