scholarly journals Hashish Body Packing: A Case Report

2009 ◽  
Vol 2009 ◽  
pp. 1-3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manuel Jesus Soriano-Perez ◽  
Jose Luis Serrano-Carrillo ◽  
Inmaculada Marin-Montin ◽  
Alfonso Cruz-Caballero
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Foreign Bodies ◽  
Law Enforcement Officers ◽  
Abdominal Radiograph ◽  
Body Packing ◽  
Plain Abdominal Radiograph ◽  
International Borders ◽  
Contrast Enhanced ◽  
Body Packers

A 42-year-old African male was brought by the police to the emergency department under suspicion of drug smuggling by body-packing. Plain abdominal radiograph showed multiple foreign bodies within the gastrointestinal tract. Contrast-enhanced abdominal CT confirmed the findings, and the patient admitted to have swallowed “balls” of hashish. Body-packing is a recognized method of smuggling drugs across international borders. Body packers may present to the emergency department because of drug toxicity, intestinal obstruction, or more commonly, requested by law-enforcement officers for medical confirmation or exclusion of suspected body packing.

scholarly journals Radiological features of body packers: An experience from a regional accident and emergency department in close proximity to the Hong Kong International Airport

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 202-210
Author(s):  
Ho Kai Patrick Tsang ◽  
Cheuk Kei Kathy Wong ◽  
Oi Fung Wong ◽  
Wing Lun William Chan ◽  
Hing Man Ma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Body Packing ◽  
Radiological Features ◽  
International Airport ◽  
Accident And Emergency ◽  
Accident And Emergency Department ◽  
Body Packers ◽  
Solid Form ◽  
Hong Kong International Airport

Background: Body packing is a frequently used method for drug trafficking. Local information about the clinical and radiological features of body packing is lacking. Objectives: To evaluate the radiological features of body packers presenting to a hospital near to the Hong Kong International Airport and to compare the radiological features of solid form versus liquid cocaine. Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study. Medical notes of 269 suspected body packers, presenting to the Accident and Emergency Department of North Lantau Hospital under the detention by the law enforcement personnel from 1st January 2015 to 28th February 2017, were reviewed. The radiological features of body packing were retrospectively evaluated. Results: Sixty-nine cases were confirmed body packers radiographically. Majority of them (81%, 56/69) were cocaine packers. Powder form cocaine (67%, 49/69) was the most popular drug packed, followed by liquid cocaine (15%, 10/69). There was a trend of increasing incidence of liquid cocaine packers. The classical ‘double condom’, ‘tic tac’ and ‘halo’ signs were present in 94%, 72.5% and 42% of cases with radiologically confirmed body packing respectively. The ‘rosette’ sign was only identified in 1 case. Three new radiological signs, the ‘bag of eggs’, ‘lucent triangle’ and ‘black crescent’ sign, were suggested to aid identification of drug packets. The classical ‘tic tac’ sign was absent in all liquid cocaine packing cases (p<0.05). The liquid cocaine packets appeared irregular with indistinct border in majority of cases (p<0.05). The solid form packets were mostly opaque to faeces while liquid cocaine had variable density (p<0.05). Most solid form packets had homogeneous content which was in contrast to the heterogeneous content in liquid cocaine (p<0.05). Conclusion: Failure in detecting drug body packing may result in medicolegal consequences. Emergency physicians need to be aware of subtle radiological signs of liquid cocaine packets in the plain abdominal radiography.

scholarly journals Unexpected Radiologic Findings for a Casting Type of Radiolucent Colorectal Foreign Body Composed of Polyurethane Foam

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-3
Author(s):  
Emi Sanjo ◽  
Fumihiko Tamamoto ◽  
Shoichi Ogawa ◽  
Maiko Sano ◽  
Tetsunori Yoshimura ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Body ◽  
Polyurethane Foam ◽  
Foreign Bodies ◽  
Abdominal Radiograph ◽  
Radiologic Diagnosis ◽  
Careful Evaluation ◽  
Plain Abdominal Radiograph ◽  
Radiologic Findings ◽  
Diagnostic Difficulties ◽  
Abdominal Radiographs

Radiologic diagnosis of colorectal foreign bodies is usually not very difficult, because inserted materials are often clearly visible on plain abdominal radiographs. However, when they are radiolucent, a plain abdominal radiograph has been reported to be useless. As radiolucent colorectal foreign bodies appear as radiolucent artificial contours or air-trapped materials in the pelvis, almost always the diagnosis itself can be made by careful evaluation of plain abdominal radiographs. We encountered a case of casting type of radiolucent colorectal foreign body formed from polyurethane foam. It presented us with unexpected radiologic findings and led to diagnostic difficulties.

scholarly journals Suspicious Case of a Body packer “Mule” in a Low Resource Country: A Case Report

2021 ◽  
Vol 59 (238) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bibek Rajbhandari ◽  
Olita Shilpakar ◽  
Subash Thapa ◽  
Sumi Singh
Keyword(s):  
Illicit Drugs ◽  
Abdominal Radiograph ◽  
Suspected Case ◽  
Body Packing ◽  
Body Packer ◽  
Resource Limited ◽  
Body Packers ◽  
Low Resource Country ◽  
Limited Setting ◽  
Suspicious Case

Body packing is the process of smuggling illicit drugs in the form of packages concealed within the gastrointestinal tract via ingestion or inserting into body orifices. These individuals are described as “body packers”, “stuffers”, “mules” or “swallowers” and resort to carrying drugs like heroin, cocaine and cannabis. They present to the hospital following the development of complications or brought dead due to the rupture of packets or directly from detention for further investigations. This case illustrates a suspected case detained from the airport who was found to be carrying 93 pellets of an illicit drug, heroin, weighing 900 grams, one of the highest quantity carried by any body packer in the country till date. This case further sheds light on the fact that a meticulous history, detailed clinical examination and radiographic investigations like abdominal radiograph and imaging are the keys to diagnose body packers in a resource limited setting.

scholarly journals Emergency department visits among patients transported by law enforcement officers

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. e0244679
Author(s):  
David L. Rosen ◽  
Debbie Travers
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Psychotic Disorders ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
Law Enforcement Officers ◽  
Patient Characteristics ◽  
Emergency Department Visits ◽  
Rural Counties ◽  
The Impact

Law enforcement officers frequently encounter people with health conditions. We sought to estimate the rates, diagnoses, and characteristics of emergency department (ED) visits among patients transported directly by law enforcement. We analyzed statewide North Carolina Emergency Department data for adults, aged 18+ years, from 2009 to 2016. We estimated transport rates using census data; categorized primary ED diagnoses into 13 major and 8 substituent categories; compared county transport rates by rurality; and examined patient characteristics. There were 136,240 patients transported by law enforcement; annual rates increased from 186.9 (per 100,000 adult residents) in 2009 to 279.2 in 2016. Among visits, 67.7% were among men, the median age was 37 years, and 20.4% resulted in a hospital admission. Most common primary diagnoses were Mental Health Diagnoses (43.1%)—including Schizophrenia and other Psychotic Disorders (7.6%), Mood Disorders (9.7%), and Alcohol and Substance Use (10.7%)—followed by Injury and Poisoning (12.4%) and Circulatory conditions (4.1%). Involuntary commitments constituted 22% of all visits. The median transport rate in rural counties, 291.1, was 2 times that of large metro counties, 145.1. The visit rate increased by nearly 50% during the study period, with the highest rates in rural counties. Many transports were for Mental Illness and involuntary commitments. The relatively common occurrence of law enforcement transports suggests the need for greater research to understand factors influencing law enforcement transport decisions, the impact of these transports on patient health and safety, and the repercussions on patient care of a growing officer presence in EDs.

Reporting Use of Force Injuries by Law Enforcement Officers in the Emergency Department

2010 ◽  
Vol 56 (4) ◽  
pp. 424-425 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hayden P. Smith ◽  
H. Range Hutson ◽  
Geoffrey P. Alpert ◽  
Jared Strote
Keyword(s):  
Emergency Department ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Use Of Force ◽  
Law Enforcement Officers
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