Enhancing Diagnostic Accuracy in Body Packing Cases: The Impact of Preliminary Diagnosis Awareness on Computed Tomography Evaluation

Year 2024, Volume: 5 Issue: 3, 174 - 180, 30.09.2024

Hakan Gökalp Taş , Türkhun Çetin , Bünyamin Ece Özlem Çelik Aydın , Sonay Aydın

https://doi.org/10.56766/ntms.1544950

Abstract

Objective: Body packing refers to the concealment of illegal substances within the body. This study aims to evaluate the computed tomography (CT) findings of body packing cases, and to assess whether considering the possibility of body packing in preliminary diagnosis will affect the accuracy of specialists evaluating in the emergency and intensive care departments.
Materials and Methods: 20 body packing cases were retrospectively examined for the presence of foreign bodies. A control group was created from 20 non-contrast abdominal CT images. Re-evaluation involved four radiologists. Before evaluating, two radiologists were advised they could be body packers.
Results: In 18 (90%) of 20 body packers, foreign bodies were visible in the intestinal lumen, mostly 14 (70%) in the colon. Radiologists who were given preliminary diagnosis, correctly identified all 18 (100%) intestinal foreign body cases and did not make any false positives. Two other radiologists correctly identified 16 (88.9%) cases and missed 2 (11.1%) cases and there was significantly difference (p<0.001).
Conclusions: In conclusion, packaged foreign bodies being observed most commonly in colonic segments. Evaluating without knowledge of the preliminary diagnosis of body packing significantly reduces the diagnostic accuracy. Keeping body packing cases in mind in emergency and intensive care departments in centers where they may be more prevalent can increase the diagnostic rate. When a tentative diagnosis is known, there is a greater chance of finding foreign bodies on CT scans, which increases diagnostic accuracy. This is especially true in high-prevalence settings where emergency and intensive care units may experience body packing.

Keywords

Body Packing, Computed Tomography, Pre-Diagnosis, Foreign Bodies / diagnosis, Drug Trafficking, Gastrointestinal Tract

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