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- Title
Prognosis of cocaine body-packers.
- Authors
de Prost, Nicolas; Lefebvre, Aurélie; Questel, Frank; Roche, Nicolas; Pourriat, Jean-Louis; Huchon, Gérard; Rabbat, Antoine; Lefebvre, Aurélie; Huchon, Gérard
- Abstract
<bold>Objective: </bold>To study the prognosis and complications of cocaine body-packing (concealment of cocaine in the body for transportation between countries).<bold>Design: </bold>We retrospectively reviewed the files of all cocaine body-packers hospitalized during a 4-year period in a medico-judiciary emergency unit. Subjects included in the survey were identified from the hospital databases using ICD-10 codes.<bold>Setting: </bold>The Medico-Judiciary Emergency Unit of Hôtel-Dieu university hospital in Paris is a unique medical and surgical emergency unit receiving all patients in legal custody arrested at the two Paris international airports and suspected of body-packing.<bold>Patients: </bold>All the cases of cocaine body-packers (n=581) hospitalized between January 1999 and December 2002 were studied. They had been arrested at Paris airports while arriving from drug-producing countries.<bold>Results: </bold>The mean number of carried packets was 70.0+/-20.4 (range 18-150). The mean duration of hospitalization was 5.0+/-1.6 days (range 1-18). No complication occurred in 573 body-packers cases. Eight subjects developed a complication requiring admission to an intensive care unit: six acute cocaine intoxications due to packet rupture and two intestinal occlusions. No one died. Surgical treatment was necessary in six cases.<bold>Conclusions: </bold>Good prognosis observed in these body-packers cases is due to the careful monitoring of asymptomatic patients, allowing early detection and treatment of complications. Surgical removal of the packets when complication occurs is warranted.
- Subjects
FRANCE; PROGNOSIS; INTENSIVE care units; CRITICAL care medicine; HOSPITAL care; MEDICAL care; TERMINAL care; COCAINE; CRIME; DRUG packaging; ELECTROCARDIOGRAPHY; RETROSPECTIVE studies
- Publication
Intensive Care Medicine, 2005, Vol 31, Issue 7, p955
- ISSN
0342-4642
- Publication type
journal article
- DOI
10.1007/s00134-005-2660-y