Pregnant woman dies after drug packing

Sep 25, 06

Body packing,” the practice of swallowing packets of drugs to traffic across the US border, puts the individual at high risk of a lethal drug overdose if a packet ruptures.

Dr. Dwight R. Cordero and associates at the University of Miami School of Medicine in Florida recently saw a pregnant cocaine body packer in whom a packet ruptured.

The woman died, but the surgeons were able to save the baby.

The 26-year-old woman was 32 weeks pregnant. Once doctors realized she had ingested the drug packets, and before rupture of a packet was detected, she was treated with polyethylene glycol, a chemical that speeds the passage of food in the intestines.

A few hours later she developed seizures. She was given a sedative and placed on a ventilator. Her condition deteriorated, but as she was dying, the physicians performed an emergency c-section and delivered the baby.

An autopsy on the woman revealed 157 latex packets containing 830 grams of cocaine within the stomach and small and large intestines. One packet had ruptured, resulting in a fatal dose of cocaine.

Although the baby survived, there was evidence of slowed development at 1 year of age.

SOURCE: Annals of Emergency Medicine, September 2006.

Print Version
Tell-a-Friend