Prognosis of cocaine body-packers.

OBJECTIVE

To study the prognosis and complications of cocaine body-packing (concealment of cocaine in the body for transportation between countries).

DESIGN

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.

SETTING

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.

PATIENTS

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.

RESULTS

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.

CONCLUSIONS

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.