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Introduction: In 2020, some 284 million people used illicit drugs. To transport drugs there are those who use the inside of their body, called body packers, a dangerous practice that imposes challenges when facing them. Objectives: Describe the diagnosis and treatment of body packer. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out at the "Dr. Carlos J. Finlay" Central Military Hospital from January 2021 to October 2023. The population under study consisted of 9 patients diagnosed as body packers who attended the health care center. Variables used: Age groups, sex, skin color, country of origin, clinical manifestations, complications, complementary exams, treatment, capsule evacuation time, number of capsules and substance transported. Results: Among human drug carriers, the highest incidence was in adult, mixed race and Latin American patients. Of these, 77.7 % evolved asymptomatic and without complications. The computed tomography confirmed multiple images in the lumen of the digestive tract and the urine toxicological analysis reported: Cocaine in 100 % of the patients, in addition, among them, one positive for marijuana. The treatment used was conservative: Oral polyethylene glycol, with high effectiveness and average evacuation time of 15 hours; quantity of capsules in the range of 22 to 146. Conclusions: Computed tomography is useful for the diagnosis and monitoring of body packers. Conservative treatment for asymptomatic patients, with multidisciplinary surveillance and the use of polyethylene glycol, is safe and efficient. |
