"Parachuting" meth: a novel delivery method for methamphetamine and delayed-onset toxicity from "body stuffing".

BACKGROUND: Methamphetamine is an illicit stimulant that is typically smoked, insufflated, or injected. We report an unusual method of ingesting methamphetamine called "parachuting" and its implications for the treatment of "body stuffers."

CASE REPORT: A 25-year-old man wrapped methamphetamine into a plastic baggie and ingested it in an attempt to "parachute." He presented to an Emergency Department 10 hours after his ingestion because he realized that he forgot to puncture the baggie. He had no complaints and had a transient tachycardia. He was treated with activated charcoal and whole bowel irrigation, observed for 24 hours, and discharged. He returned 42 hours after his ingestion with tachycardia (220 bpm), agitation, hypertension (179/74 mmHg), and rhabdomyolysis (CPK 7771 U/L), requiring mechanical ventilation and a midazolam drip (10 mg/hr).

CONCLUSION: "Parachuting" is a novel method of ingesting methamphetamine. We report a case of a single-packet "body stuffer" with severe symptom onset that was delayed over 36 hours. Treatment protocols for "body stuffers" using this technique may require more prolonged observation and/or imaging studies to determine the absence of gastrointestinal packets.