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Review
. 2022 Nov 4;16(1):426.
doi: 10.1186/s13256-022-03628-9.

Body stuffing during apprehension resulting in distal esophageal impaction: a case report and review of the literature

Tegan Schmidt  1 , Yuliya Matolina  1 , Arianna S Neeki  1   2 , Carlos Peace  2 , Benjamin Archambeau  1   3 , Fanglong Dong  1 , Michael M Neeki  4   5   6
Affiliations
Review

Body stuffing during apprehension resulting in distal esophageal impaction: a case report and review of the literature

Tegan Schmidt et al. J Med Case Rep. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Background: Body stuffing and body packing are two methods of concealing illicit drugs. Body stuffing is defined as the oral ingestion of illicit drugs, typically to avoid law enforcement detection or other consequences of possession, and may present a serious medical emergency in patients. Most commonly, body stuffers ingest possibly large or unknown quantities of illicit substances to avoid detection of the drugs during apprehension. This ingestion is typically hasty or impulsive, and therefore the substances ingested are rarely packaged in a way that would be considered safe for ingestion.

Case presentation: This case highlights a series of rare complications of impacted esophageal foreign body including esophageal edema, pericarditis, and hydro-pneumothorax for a 16-year-old Hispanic male who was booked into a county juvenile detention and rehabilitation facility. He complained of persistent intractable epigastric pain, along with pleuritic chest pain with multiple episodes of vomiting over the previous 4 days. He denied swallowing any foreign body. He underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy, and a plastic bag with content suspicious for marijuana was discovered in the distal esophagus and removed.

Conclusions: Failure to consider body stuffing and foreign body impaction in individuals during medical evaluation in detention centers with complaints of chest pain, abdominal pain, dysphagia, and/or certain toxidromes can delay diagnosis and lead to a variety of medical complications.

Keywords: Abdominal pain; Body stuffing; Chest pain; Esophageal foreign body; Pericarditis.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The red arrows on the computed tomography scans demonstrate distal esophageal foreign body with surrounding soft tissue edema
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Twelve-lead EKG consistent with acute pericarditis. Red up arrow indicates diffuse concave ST elevations. Blue down arrow indicates hyperacute T waves. Plus symbol indicates PR depressions
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Bagged marijuana removed via endoscopy
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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