Scientific study reveals all the medical errors in the series 'House'

A study by three Croatian doctors who analyzed in detail the 177 episodes of 'House', one of the most successful medical series in recent years, revealed all the scientific errors, such as a neurologist performing a colonoscopy or the use of mercury thermometers.

The series, which follows the daily life of the brilliant but difficult to deal with Dr. Gregory House, a sort of Sherlock Holmes doctor who comes across almost unsolvable cases that he manages to cure most of the time, aired from 2004 to 2012.

At its peak, the American series had nearly 20 million viewers per episode.

In their study, the three neurologists, fans of the series, observed a total of 77 errors.

“We focused on the diagnoses of key cases, how clinical practice is represented and the detection of medical errors,” explains Denis Cerimagic, professor at the University of Dubrovnik and lead author of the study called 'Dr. House: between reality and fiction'.

The most obvious mistake is that Dr. House, who is limping, carries his cane the wrong way because “it is more effective on screen to emphasize his limp,” according to Cerimagic.

The series has other errors such as the appearance of mercury thermometers, which are no longer used, chemotherapies that could cure different tumors or the fact that the results of the most complex analyses are obtained in just a few hours.

“We wanted to write a paper that would be interesting for doctors, but also for readers without much medical knowledge,” explains Professor Cerimagic, co-author of the study with Goran Ivric and Ervina Bilic.

In recent years, medical records have become increasingly accurate and better reflect the work of doctors. “Now, only health professionals can detect errors,” says Cerimagic.

ljv/cbo/pc/sag/jmo/aa