title: Best evidence topic report. Abdominal radiography in "body packers".
abstract: A short cut review was carried out to establish whether an abdominal radiograph has clinical utility in the management of patients who claim to have swallowed drug filled packages. Twelve papers were found using the reported search, of which two presented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The author, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results and study weaknesses of these best papers are tabulated. A clinical bottom line is stated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Manchester Royal Infirmary, Oxford Road, Manchester M13 9WL, UK.
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Costello
authors.forename: Will
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Townend
mesh_terms: D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003415:Crime; D004636:Emergency Service, Hospital; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs; D011859:Radiography
chemical_list: D013287:Illicit Drugs