Adhesive small bowel obstruction in pregnancy and the use of oral contrast media: a case report

Abstract

Abstract Bowel obstruction in pregnancy is a high risk situation for both the mother and baby. We present a case of a 30-week-pregnant woman who presented with abdominal pain and vomiting and was diagnosed with adhesive small bowel obstruction (SBO). Oral contrast media was successfully used as a treatment. The patient was discharged home and 10 weeks later delivered a healthy baby girl. We were unable to find any cases in the literature describing oral contrast media to treat adhesive SBO in pregnancy. From our experience and research, we consider oral contrast media as a method of treating adhesive SBO in pregnancy under the proviso that there are no signs that indicate urgent surgical intervention.