The Poison Review - August 25, 2015
Assessment of the management outcomes of body packers. Alfa-Wali M et al. ANZ J Surg 2015 Jul 14
[Epub ahead of print]
"Abstract
This article from Hillingdon Hospital in London — located a mere 4 miles from Heathrow airport — was intended to evaluate the facility’s existing protocol for managing body packers.
Although some details of their protocol are not justified or even well-described, in general they align with the trend towards conservative treatment of asymptomatic patients, with observation bowel cleansing agents — they used Picolax (sodium picosulfate with magnesium citrate) or Klean-Prep (polyethylene glycol.) Surgery was reserved for patients showing signs of toxicity from cocaine or heroin, or gastrointestinal obstruction, but not done just because ingested packets had not passed within a pre-specified time period."
http://www.thepoisonreview.com/2015/08/25/management-of-body-packers/