"The Doctor is in the House" - Cobalt intoxication diagnosed with the help of Dr House.

"The Doctor is in the House" - Cobalt intoxication diagnosed with the help of Dr House.HT: The Lancet.

Episode of the TV series “House” helps Medical team diagnose 'Cobalt intoxication', of patient with hip replacement.

Cobalt intoxication has been a well known cause of cardiomyopathy for over 50 years; however, it has mostly been known in the context of so-called Quebec beer drinkers' cardiomyopathy and hard steel work-related exposure to cobalt.

Searching for the cause combining these symptoms—and remembering an episode of the TV series “House” which we used for teaching medical students (series seven/episode 11)1—we suspected cobalt intoxication as the most likely reason.

We did radiography of the hip and measured cobalt and chromium. The radiograph showed a myositis ossificans-like picture attributable to metal debris at the left-sided hip. The measurement of cobalt and chromium in the blood showed severe increase of these metals.Read the full article here.