Management of Patients With Drug Packet Ingestion (Body Packers): A Narrative Review

Abstract

Context: Due to the increased freight traffic and illicit movement of drug packages disguised inside the body, as well as the shortage of adequate surgical textbook references regarding the management, we aimed to utilize our clinical experience and collect relevant content to present a plausible solution. Evidence Acquisition: The PubMed, Scopus, Web of Sciences, and Google Scholar databases were systematically searched for related articles. Results: Of the overall 294 retrieved articles, 37 articles remained for review after the exclusion of duplicates and unrelated papers. Imaging is beneficial in several cases of body packing. Abdominopelvic computed tomography without contrast, which is likely the best diagnostic tool for identifying the existence and quantity of packets in these patents, can help doctors avoid common diagnostic mistakes. Whether it be opioids, cocaine, or amphetamines, each drug class should have a customized course of action. Conclusion: Although conservative treatment is often employed for these individuals, early surgical intervention for packet removal is advised in the cases of ingesting cocaine and amphetamine packets due to the lack of an appropriate antagonist.