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Updated: Jan 3, 2026
04:55
Handheld Metal Detector Screening for Metallic Foreign Body Ingestion in Children
Published on: September 11, 2018
11.2K
Young Man With Suspected Foreign Body Ingestion.
Erin F Shufflebarger1, Matthew C DeLaney1, David C Pigott1
1University of Alabama at Birmingham, Department of Emergency Medicine, Birmingham, Alabama.
Clinical Practice and Cases in Emergency Medicine
|November 26, 2019
Summary
Emergency physicians must recognize patients smuggling illicit drugs, known as body packers. This case highlights the risk of massive heroin exposure from ingested packets found in the colon via CT scan.
Area of Science:
- Emergency Medicine
- Radiology
- Toxicology
Background:
- Emergency departments (EDs) face rising numbers of patients with substance abuse complications.
- Physicians must also consider patients smuggling illicit drugs.
Purpose of the Study:
- To report a case of a patient presenting to the ED for suspected drug smuggling.
- To highlight the clinical presentation and diagnostic findings associated with body packing.
Main Methods:
- Case report of a 26-year-old male transported to the ED.
- Abdominal computed tomography (CT) was utilized for diagnosis.
Main Results:
- CT revealed multiple tubular foreign bodies within the colon.
- These foreign bodies were identified as packets containing heroin.
Conclusions:
- Body packing is a high-risk scenario for emergency physicians.
- Inadvertent and massive drug exposure is a significant risk in these patients.
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