title: Assessment of the management outcomes of body packers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The constant need for rapid financial gain drives the international illegal drug industry, which encourages healthy individuals to smuggle drugs through internal concealment. The aim of this study was to evaluate our practice of the management of body packers using a hospital-based protocol in order to validate it.
  
  
  METHODS
  Electronic hospital data were retrospectively reviewed between 2000 and 2013 of all patients that were admitted to Hillingdon Hospital with a history of internal drug concealment. Demographic as well as clinical data including investigations and management were collected.
  
  
  RESULTS
  One hundred and twenty patients were admitted over the study period to our surgical unit. This included 86 male and 34 female patients with a mean age of 38 (range 19-64) years. Three per cent (n = 4) underwent surgery for either cocaine toxicity or obstruction. The rest of the patients were managed conservatively with bowel cleansing preparations to encourage the natural passage of drug packages.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Conservative treatment is safe and effective for drug body packers. We therefore recommend conservative management to be the mainstay for body packers with surgery only being indicated on clinical grounds.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Hillingdon Hospital, London, UK. m.alfa-wali@imperial.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Maryam
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Alfa-Wali
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Hillingdon Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Atinga
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Hillingdon Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: Matthew
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tanham
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Hillingdon Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: Qamar
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Iqbal
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Hillingdon Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: Aw-Yong
authors.initials: AY
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Hillingdon Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: Yasser
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Mohsen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003042:Cocaine / Q000633:toxicity*; D064423:Drug Trafficking; D005260:Female; D005547:Foreign Bodies / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D013287:Illicit Drugs / Q000633:toxicity*; D008131:London; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012007:Rectum; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014621:Vagina
chemical_list: D013287:Illicit Drugs; D003042:Cocaine
keywords: body packer; body stuffer; cocaine; drug concealment; drug packer