TCMMEJRA
type: UserItem
resource: Case Report: Don't chew the fufu: a case report of suspected drug body stuffing
tagged: UserTag
  label: Bodystuffing
tagged: UserTag
  label: bodypacking
tagged: UserTag
  label: fufu/foofoo/foufou
tagged: UserTag
  label: prison
tagged: UserTag
  label: radiology pitfalls

Case Report: Don't chew the fufu: a case report of suspected drug body stuffing
type: AcademicArticle
abstract: Background: Intrabody concealment of illicit substances is a common practice in the trafficking chain. Body packing is a technique used in drug trafficking that consists of deliberately ingesting many drug pellets. Body stuffing consists of precipitously swallowing packets of substances, which are smaller and more fragile than body-packing pellets, for concealment from law-enforcement officers in anticipation of impending search or arrest. Therefore, body stuffing is particularly dangerous due to the rupture risk of the loosely wrapped drug packets, which could lead to substance intoxication or even death. Case presentation: This article reports the case of a young man who was taken by law enforcement authorities to our Emergency Department for investigation of suspected body stuffing. Although the patient denied the facts, the initial reading of the computed tomography (CT) scan confirmed the presence of multiple images compatible with drug pellets, which were mostly in the stomach. The pellet findings were more consistent with body packing than body stuffing as initially suspected by the police. However, upon admission to our secured inpatient ward for clinical surveillance of pellet evacuation, the patient denied again having ingested such pellets, and declared that he only ate 'fufu'. Fufu is a traditional food of central and western Africa consisting of a starchy preparation compacted by hand into small balls. Fufu balls are usually swallowed without chewing to allow a sensation of stomach fullness throughout the day. Considering the fufu intake history, a careful reassessment of the imaging confirmed the presence of food content. Conclusions: This case study offers an example of suspected intrabody concealment of illicit substances, which turned out to be false positive due to fufu. It illustrates the importance of a history of food intake that could bias the interpretation of CT scan images.
pages: 1156
doi: 10.12688/f1000research.19966.2
source: 33633839
creator: Person
author list: Person
is part of: Issue
  date: 2019-07-22
  volume: 8
  is part of: F1000Res
    type: Journal
    issn: 2046-1402 (Electronic) 2046-1402 (Linking)

Person
given name: N.
surname: Jimenez

Person
given name: N. T.
surname: Tran

Person
given name: P. A.
surname: Poletti

Person
given name: A.
surname: Platon

Person
given name: F.
surname: Meach

Person
given name: A.
surname: Juillerat

Person
given name: L.
surname: Getaz

Person
given name: H.
surname: Wolff