Imaging Features of Rice Bodies in Joint Lesions: Case Series, Differential Diagnosis, and Literature Review

Abstract

Objective: To present several cases of intra-articular rice bodies, analyze their imaging characteristics, underlying etiologies,
differential diagnoses, and therapeutic approaches.
Methods: A case series of patients with typical magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings was conducted. Clinical and
paraclinical data were correlated and compared with evidence from the current literature.
Results: The patients were definitively diagnosed with rice body synovitis secondary to tuberculosis and rheumatoid arthritis,
and were managed with arthroscopic intervention combined with medical therapy. Differential diagnoses in these cases included
synovial chondromatosis, pigmented villonodular synovitis, and lipoma arborescens.
Conclusion: Rice bodies represent a nonspecific finding that may be encountered in various pathological conditions. MRI
plays a crucial role in diagnosis and in differentiating rice bodies from other etiologies.