ABSTRACT
Introduction: There is an increasing number of reports demonstrating that dietary small bowel obstruction caused by rice cake consumption can be treated conservatively. However, the course of conservative treatment and the characteristics of the cases that require surgery remain unclear. The purpose of this study was to clarify the clinical features of small bowel obstruction caused by rice cake consumption and the characteristics of cases that require surgery.Methods: We retrospectively assessed all cases of intestinal obstruction caused by rice cake consumption treated at a single institution over a period of 7 years. We also assessed similar previously reported cases.Results: We assessed nine cases in our study and reviewed 67 previously reported cases. Conservative treatment was employed in 56 cases (73.7%). Dietary small bowel obstruction caused by rice cake consumption occurred 1.7 ± 0.3 days after intake. The computed tomography (CT) value of rice cake in the intestine was 160.0 ± 8.9 Hounsfield Units. Pieces of rice cake (length ≥ 4 cm) were observed in five of six cases in which rice cake consumption caused intestinal perforation.Conclusion: In most cases, patients with dietary small bowel obstruction caused by rice cake consumption will recover after conservative treatment. However, there is a high risk of intestinal perforation if intestinal CT reveals the length of rice cake pieces to be 4 cm or longer.