Body packers: grading of risk as a guide to management and intervention.
The dual aims of management of the drug smuggler are for low morbidity and mortality combined with a low operation rate. In our experience, presented in this paper, adherence to the principle of identifying the high-risk patient by symptoms and signs combines safety with low rates of intervention.
Jones
O M
OM
Department of Surgery, Hillingdon Hospital, Uxbridge, Middlesex, UK. oliver.jones@pharm.ox.ac.uk
Shorey
B A
BA
D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000209:etiology; D002400:Cathartics / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003415:Crime; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D009325:Nausea / Q000209:etiology; D011859:Radiography; D018570:Risk Assessment
D002400:Cathartics; D013287:Illicit Drugs