Body packing is described as using the abdominal or pelvic cavity for concealing illegal drugs. Leakage from the packets may cause catastrophic effects on smugglers and medical history is not reliable in these patients. Moreover, new sophisticated smuggling techniques make it imperative that radiologists and emergency physicians understand and familiarize themselves with the different radiological manifestations of ingested drug packets. Currently, there is no gold standard for imaging patients suspected of body packing; nevertheless, computed tomography (CT) seems to be the best modality for packet detection and unenhanced CT without bowel preparation is a reliable technique for detection of ingested packets. On abdominal radiography, packets may be visualized as oval or round radiopaque foreign bodies surrounded by a gas halo. In the literature, sensitivity of abdominal radiography is reported from 74% to 100%. Visualization of the drug packets may be strikingly hampered by administration of oral or intravenous contrast medium in abdomino-pelvic CT; hence, contrast-enhanced CT does not seem to be a suitable modality for searching the ingested packets in suspicious smugglers.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3522363 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.5812/iranjradiol.4757 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
A multi-body finite element model for hydrogel packings: linear response to shear.
Soft Matter
January 2025
Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, Northeastern University, USA.
We study a multi-body finite element model of a packing of hydrogel particles using the Flory-Rehner constitutive law to model the deformation of the swollen polymer network. We show that while the dependence of the pressure, , on the effective volume fraction, , is virtually identical to a monolithic Flory material, the shear modulus, , behaves in a non-trivial way. increases monotonically with from zero and remains below about 80% of the monolithic Flory value at the largest we study here.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFα-Synuclein (αSyn), an intrinsically disordered protein implicated in Parkinson's disease, is potentially thought to initiate aggregation through binding to cellular membranes. Previous studies have suggested that anionic membrane charge is necessary for this binding. However, these studies largely focus on unmodified αSyn, while nearly all αSyn in the body is N-terminally acetylated (NTA).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFComparison of Nasal Packing, Trans-septal Suturing, and Submucosal Trans-septal Suturing Techniques After Septal Extension Grafts With Autogenous Costicartilage.
J Craniofac Surg
December 2024
Department of Plastic Surgery, the Affiliated Friendship Plastic Surgery Hospital of Nanjing Medical University.
Background: Nasal packing (NP), trans-septal suturing (TSS), and submucosal trans-septal suturing (STSS) are common techniques to avoid dead space after the deviated septum is corrected. However, there is rare data about surgical complications and discomfort of these techniques after septal extension grafts (SEG) with autogenous costicartilage.
Objective: To compare the complications and discomfort of NP, TSS, and STSS techniques after SEG with autogenous costicartilage.
Crystal structure predictions for molecules with soft degrees of freedom using intermonomer force fields derived from first principles.
Acta Crystallogr B Struct Sci Cryst Eng Mater
December 2024
Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA.
Article Synopsis
- - The seventh blind test for molecular crystal structure prediction (CSP) involved two stages with seven diverse crystal targets, including cocrystals and a salt, analyzed using a CSP protocol that started with finding optimal molecule conformations.
- - An ab initio two-body rigid-monomer six-dimensional force field (aiFF) was developed to assist with packing and energy minimization in CSPs, incorporating flexible-monomer techniques for specific targets.
- - The results highlighted a success rate of 15% in structure generation and 33% in structure rating during the submission phase, improving significantly post-submission to 54% and 89%, respectively; the study suggests a conformer-based CSP approach is effective for crystals with flexible
Extreme bradycardia in a case of benzodiazepine intoxication in a "body stuffer" (Bradicardia extrema en un caso de intoxicación por benzodiacepinas en un "body stuffer").
Toxicol Rep
December 2024
Universidad del Rosario, Resident physician of the Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Colombia.
Transport intoxication in the form of body stuffing, a dangerous practice involving the ingestion or insertion of psychoactive substances into the body to evade detection during drug trafficking, represents a major medical problem that requires immediate attention in the emergency department. Unlike body packing, where substances are encapsulated and swallowed for later extraction, body stuffing involves direct ingestion without wrapping, which greatly increases the risk of serious intoxication and even death. Benzodiazepines, due to their high demand on the black market, are among the most common drugs used in body stuffing.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!