Suspicious Case of a Body packer "Mule" in a Low Resource Country: A Case Report.


Journal

JNMA; journal of the Nepal Medical Association
ISSN: 1815-672X
Titre abrégé: JNMA J Nepal Med Assoc
Pays: Nepal
ID NLM: 0045233

Informations de publication

Date de publication:
01 Jul 2021
Historique:
received: 25 05 2021
accepted: 28 06 2021
entrez: 11 9 2021
pubmed: 12 9 2021
medline: 15 9 2021
Statut: epublish

Résumé

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.

Identifiants

pubmed: 34508400
doi: 10.31729/jnma.6618
pmc: PMC8369563
doi:

Types de publication

Case Reports Journal Article

Langues

eng

Sous-ensembles de citation

IM

Pagination

585-588

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Auteurs

Bibek Rajbhandari (B)

Department of General Practice and Emergency Medicine, Nepal Police Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Olita Shilpakar (O)

Department of General Practice and Emergency Medicine, NAMS, Bir Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Subash Thapa (S)

Department of Radiology, Nepal Police Hospital, Kathmandu, Nepal.

Sumi Singh (S)

Nepal Medical College, Kathmandu, Nepal.

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Classifications MeSH