title: The risk of body packing: a case of a fatal cocaine overdose.
abstract: The process of swallowing or inserting illegal packets of drugs for the purpose of evading law enforcement officers carries risks other than criminal charges. It can be fatal. Individuals engaged in such activities are called "Body Packers" or "Mules". The most frequent cause of the death among body packers is acute drug intoxication due to rupture of the package(s) within the gastrointestinal tract. We present the first documented case of a body packer that died from cocaine intoxication following the rupture of packets of cocaine in Western Pennsylvania.
authors.affiliation: Allegheny County Coroner's Office, 542 Fourth Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15219, USA. skoehler@county.allegheny.pa.us
authors.forename: Steven A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Koehler
authors.forename: Shaun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ladham
authors.forename: Leon
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Rozin
authors.forename: Abdulrezak
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shakir
authors.forename: Bennet
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Omalu
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dominick
authors.forename: Cyril H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Wecht
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003042:Cocaine / Q000097:blood / Q000506:poisoning*; D003415:Crime; D018765:Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors / Q000097:blood / Q000506:poisoning*; D062787:Drug Overdose; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000150:complications*; D005554:Forensic Medicine; D041981:Gastrointestinal Tract / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male
chemical_list: D018765:Dopamine Uptake Inhibitors; D003042:Cocaine