[Sonographic detectability of narcotic drug containers in the gastrointestinal tract. Experimental research in the dog].

A "body-pack" is a swallowed plastic or rubber container used by drug smugglers to carry drugs. We report our experience in diagnoses of such packs in vivo. We simulated the pack by stuffing a fingerstall of a latex handglove with a mixture of 10% barium powder and flour to render it radiopaque. Eight serial examinations were made. In each series, an adult Alsatian dog was fed upto 10 such "body-packs". The passage of these packs through the gastrointestinal tract was followed with ultrasound examinations made at 2, 24, and 48 hours postprandially. Immediately after each sonographic localisation of "body-pack" was made, an x-ray examination of the abdomen in this region was also carried out. Ultrasound correctly determined the position of the "body-pack" in 20 out of 24 examinations as compared to x-ray results. In 4 cases ultrasound could not confirm the location of the "pack".