diagnostic realism
3.6/5
House
Season 1 Episode 14
Control
Carly Forlano, a high-powered businesswoman, becomes paralyzed and needs a heart transplant. House finds hidden bulimia and ipecac use causing severe congestive heart failure and muscle damage.
Air date: Mar 15, 2005
overall
3.5/5
procedure realism
3.4/5
workflow realism
3.3/5
Medical Cases in This Episode
These are the patient stories worth unpacking. Open any case for the real-world medicine, what the episode shows, what it leaves out, and source-backed context.
2 cases identified
Case 1
Carly Forlano: Ipecac-Related Heart Failure
The episode turns a hidden eating disorder behavior into a life-threatening cardiac and muscle-injury case.
- Episode shows
- Carly is paralyzed and later found to have severe heart damage tied to bulimia and repeated ipecac use.
- Clinical takeaway
- The episode turns a hidden eating disorder behavior into a life-threatening cardiac and muscle-injury case.
Accuracy 3.7/5bulimia-ipecac-cardiomyopathydiagnostic-reasoningpatient-safety
Case 2
Heart Transplant Candidacy and House's Withheld Information
This is a distinct transplant ethics case because withholding risk information can endanger allocation fairness and patient outcomes.
- Episode shows
- House decides whether to disclose Carly's bulimia and ipecac use to the transplant committee, knowing it may affect eligibility.
- Clinical takeaway
- This is a distinct transplant ethics case because withholding risk information can endanger allocation fairness and patient outcomes.
Accuracy 3.4/5transplant-candidacy-and-undisclosed-riskdiagnostic-reasoningpatient-safety
Episode Summary
Carly Forlano, a high-powered businesswoman, becomes paralyzed and needs a heart transplant. House finds hidden bulimia and ipecac use causing severe congestive heart failure and muscle damage.
Differential Diagnosis and Testing Logic
This curated draft avoids treating vague themes as medical cases. Each case is tied to a supported symptom, diagnosis, treatment decision, exposure, or care-process risk. Educational differentials should be checked against transcript-level evidence before final publication review.
Medical Accuracy Review
The diagnosis or care-process issue is plausible at the level supported by available episode sources. The main limitation is television compression: testing, consent, specialty consultation, documentation, and outcome tracking are shorter and cleaner than real practice.
Sources and Further Reading
Episode evidence: iDRief catalog page, House Wiki - Control, House MD Guide - Control. Medical context is stored on each topic and case card from trusted patient, public-health, clinical, ethics, and toxicology sources.
Educational Disclaimer
This page is for general education and TV medical analysis only. It is not medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment guidance. iDRief is independent and is not affiliated with any network, studio, streaming service, hospital, medical school, or rights holder.