Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine
Volume 15, Issue 4 , Pages 231-234 , May 2008

Treating cocaine body packers: The unspoken personal risks

  • Shamir O. Cawich, MBBS, DM (Consultant General Surgeon)

      Affiliations

    • Basic Medical Sciences, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica
    • Corresponding Author InformationCorresponding author.
    • ,
  • Eric W. Williams, MBBS, DM (Consultant Emergency Room Physician)

      Affiliations

    • Emergency Medicine Division, Department of Surgery, Radiology, Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica
    • ,
  • Lindberg K. Simpson, MBBS, DM (Consultant General Surgeon)

      Affiliations

    • Emergency Medicine Division, Department of Surgery, Radiology, Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica
    • ,
  • Necia R. Evans, BSc, LLB (Attorney at Law)

      Affiliations

    • Basic Medical Sciences, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica
    • ,
  • Peter Johnson, MBBS, DM (Consultant Radiologist)

      Affiliations

    • The Department of Radiology, University of the West Indies, Mona, Kingston 7, Jamaica

Received 9 August 2007 ,Accepted 13 October 2007.

References 

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  2. Boodram A. The Jamaican drug courier scene. Caribbean Voice. 2007;5:<http://www.caribvoice.org/features/drugcourier>
  3. East JM. Surgical complications of cocaine body-packing: a survey of Jamaican hospitals. West Ind Med J. 2005;54(1):38–41
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  15. Daras M. Neurologic complications of cocaine. NIDA Res Monogr. 1996;63:43–65
  16. Olmedo R, Nelson L, Chu J, Hoffman RS. Is surgical decontamination definitive treatment of “body-packers”?. Am J Emerg Med. 2001;19:593–596
  17. Hergan K, Kofler K, Oser W. Drug smuggling by body packing: what radiologists should know about it. Eur Radiol. 2004;14:736–742
  18. Beerman R, Nunez D, Wetli CV. Radiographic evaluation of the cocaine smuggler. Gastrointest Radiol. 1986;11(4):351–354
  19. Hierholzer J, Cordes M, Tantow H, Keske U, Maurer J, Felix R. Drug smuggling by ingested cocaine-filled packages: conventional X-ray and ultrasound. Abdom Imaging. 1995;20:333–338
  20. Marc B, Baud FJ, Aelion MJ, Gherardi R, Diamant-Berger O, Blery M, et al. The cocaine body-packer syndrome: evaluation of a method of contrast study of the bowel. J Forensic Sci. 1990;35(2):345–355
  21. Das S, Ali Baha, Mackway-Jones K. Conservative management of asymptomatic cocaine body packers. Emerg Med J. 2003;20:172–174
  22. Lemard G, Hemenway D. Violence in Jamaica: an analysis of homicides 1998 to 2002. Inj Prev. 2006;12:15–18
  23. Kreismann E, Gang M, Goldfrank LR. The interface: ethical decision making, medical toxicology, and emergency medicine. Emerg Med Clin North Am. 2006;24(3):769–784

PII: S1752-928X(07)00162-X

doi: 10.1016/j.jflm.2007.10.010

Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine
Volume 15, Issue 4 , Pages 231-234 , May 2008

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