Uncommon Sites for Body Stuffing: A Literature Review

Abstract

Introduction: ‘‘Body stuffing’ refers to concealment of illegal drugs within the human body to avoid arrest. Emergency physicians and law enforcement authorities should be aware of uncommon sites of concealment used to avoid detection. Methods: A literature search of Medline (Pubmed), Science Direct and the Cochrane databases was done, for articles relating to body packing or body stuffing of illegal drugs and sites of concealment. Results: A total of 55 full text articles and one abstract were reviewed after removing duplicates and non relevant titles. Seventeen articles were included in the results. Cocaine was the most common drug. Body stuffing is more common among males in the 3rd to 4th decade of life. The majority of cases, 99% (1144 cases), involved concealment in the oral cavity or ingestion. Unusual sites for body stuffing reported were the external auditory canal (5 cases), the rectum (3 cases), the superior oropharynx and glans penis (one case each). Complications reported are fatal toxicity, aspiration and oesophageal obstruction. Conclusion: Although uncommon, ear, nose and throat orifices have been used in body stuffing. Authorities and attending physicians should be aware that these orifices can be used to conceal drugs and proceed to a full otorhinolaryngologic examination if warranted.