Body Packer with Gastrointestinal Bleeding: A Case Report

Hadi  Mirfazaelian; Somayeh  Mirbagheri; Khosrow  Bagheri

doi:10.18502/crcp.v10i5.21394

Hadi Mirfazaelian Prehospital and Hospital Emergency Research Center, Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Somayeh Mirbagheri Emergency medicine Department, Imam Khomeini Hospital Complex, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Khosrow Bagheri General Surgery Department, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/crcp.v10i5.21394

Keywords: Body packing; Gastrointestinal bleeding; Abdominal pain; Drug smuggling; Surgical intervention

Abstract

Body packing (ingesting drug-filled packets) is a well-known method of drug smuggling,especially among prisoners. It carries significant risks, including packet rupture, bowelobstruction, and life-threatening gastrointestinal bleeding.We present a 37-year-old male prisoner with a known history of peptic ulcer diseasewho presented with severe epigastric pain, coffee-ground vomiting, and hematochezia.Abdominal X-ray revealed multiple foreign objects consistent with drug packets.Due to ongoing bleeding and the rupture of one packet during removal, the patientunderwent emergency surgical intervention. This case highlights the importance ofearly imaging, multidisciplinary management, and the need for surgical readiness inbody packers with active bleeding.