Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 6, 2026

Stereotaxic Microinjection of Viral Vectors Expressing Cre Recombinase to Study the Role of Target Genes in Cocaine Conditioned Place Preference
Published on: July 30, 2013
Prognosis of cocaine body-packers
Nicolas de Prost1, Aurélie Lefebvre, Frank Questel
1Respiratory and Intensive Care Unit, Hôtel-Dieu, 1 Place du Parvis de Notre-Dame, 75004, Paris, France.
Objective:
To study the prognosis and complications of cocaine body-packing (concealment of cocaine in the body for transportation between countries).
Design:
We retrospectively reviewed the files of all cocaine body-packers hospitalized during a 4-year period in a medico-judiciary emergency unit. Subjects included in the survey were identified from the hospital databases using ICD-10 codes.
Setting:
The Medico-Judiciary Emergency Unit of Hôtel-Dieu university hospital in Paris is a unique medical and surgical emergency unit receiving all patients in legal custody arrested at the two Paris international airports and suspected of body-packing.
Patients:
All the cases of cocaine body-packers (n=581) hospitalized between January 1999 and December 2002 were studied. They had been arrested at Paris airports while arriving from drug-producing countries.
Results:
The mean number of carried packets was 70.0+/-20.4 (range 18-150). The mean duration of hospitalization was 5.0+/-1.6 days (range 1-18). No complication occurred in 573 body-packers cases. Eight subjects developed a complication requiring admission to an intensive care unit: six acute cocaine intoxications due to packet rupture and two intestinal occlusions. No one died. Surgical treatment was necessary in six cases.
Conclusions:
Good prognosis observed in these body-packers cases is due to the careful monitoring of asymptomatic patients, allowing early detection and treatment of complications. Surgical removal of the packets when complication occurs is warranted.
Related Concept Videos
Prevention of Further Absorption of Poison
CNS Stimulants: Cocaine, Amphetamines and Cannabinoids
COPD: Pathogenesis and Clinical Features
The primary cause for the onset of COPD is cigarette smoking and exposure to air pollution. These hazardous factors initiate a chain reaction within the lungs, resulting in chronic inflammation, damage to the airways, and a...
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Smoking is a primary risk factor for COPD, with over 80% of patients having a history of it. Patients typically experience progressive dyspnea or labored breathing, frequent coughing, and recurrent pulmonary infections. Many eventually succumb to respiratory failure, characterized by...
Epistaxis
Etiology
Possible causes of this condition include high blood pressure, trauma, low humidity, upper respiratory tract infections, allergies, foreign bodies, nasal inhalation of corticosteroids or illicit drugs, excessive use of decongestant nasal sprays, facial or nasal surgery, anatomic malformation, tumors, or systemic...
Pulmonary Tuberculosis I
Causative Organism
The primary infectious agent causing tuberculosis is Mycobacterium tuberculosis, a slow-growing, acid-fast, aerobic rod that exhibits sensitivity to heat and ultraviolet light. Instances of Mycobacterium bovis and Mycobacterium avium contributing to the development of TB infection are rare.
Mode of...

