Cause dictates the treatment

DEAR DR. GOTT: My healing wasn’t complete a year following rotator-cuff surgery. My shoulder became red and swollen. My doctor opened it up to see what was going on and found “rice bodies†— thousands of them. I understand this is a rare thing and that little is known about the cause or the treatment. I am specifically interested in knowing what antibiotics should be used. I am now on infusion therapy. Also, could these be elsewhere in my body?

DEAR READER: Identified and documented as far back as 1895, rice bodies were originally thought related to tuberculous arthritis. The name originated because of a similarity in appearance to grains of polished white rice.

Today, rice bodies are commonly linked with chronic rheumatoid arthritis (RA), as a complication of bursitis or an underlying systemic disorder. They appear to represent an unrelated group of particles that may contain fibrin, fibronectin, mononuclear and blood cells, collagen and amorphous materials.

Diagnosis is accomplished through X-ray, ultrasound or MRI. I cannot tell you which antibiotic to take because management depends on the underlying cause. For example, if your rice bodies are the result of chronic bursitis, an antibiotic may not be appropriate. Only your physician can direct you in that regard. Elimination of the offender in conjunction with treatment for any possible underlying disease should provide relief.

Infusion therapy is a means of administering medication through a needle or catheter intravenously. Infections and disorders unresponsive to oral medications, dehydration, diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, congestive heart failure and immune deficiencies are commonly handled through this form of therapy.

Thirty years ago, patients being infused were required to remain in the hospital for the duration of the treatment. However, with expenses as they are in a hospital setting, the same service can now be provided in an outpatient setting or at home.

I remember when a woman remained in hospital for close to a week following childbirth. Surgical patients undergoing relatively simple procedures spent almost the same amount of time recuperating before being sent home. Now, however, the sooner a patient returns to normal activity, the better.

Rice bodies can be found in joint areas such as the shoulder, knee or ankle. If your condition is the result of chronic bursitis or RA, multiple joints can be affected, but I can’t guess whether that will occur in your case.

To provide related information, I am sending you a copy of my Health Report, “Managing Chronic Pain.†Other readers who would like a copy should send a self-addressed stamped No. 10 envelope and a $2 check or money order to Newsletter, PO Box 167, Wickliffe, OH 44092-0167. Be sure to mention the title or print an order form off my Web site at AskDrGottMD.com.

DEAR DR. GOTT: Many publications have inserts in them for discounts on prescription drugs. When I see these, I tear them out, take them to my pharmacy, and present them at the window where prescriptions are filled. Employees save them to use for customers who don’t have insurance. Why do I do this? Because I have insurance and can help others who do not.

DEAR READER: Target and Wal-Mart offer $4 prescriptions for a one-month supply of medication. There may be other large chains I am unaware of that provide a similar program.

This is of enormous assistance to everyone, but primarily those on a fixed income who must watch every penny.

Over the years, I have known patients who cut their medication in half, making a prescription last twice as long. If we all take your lead and make an effort to help others in similar ways, we will be doing something good for our communities and perhaps might even feel better about ourselves.

Peter Gott practiced medicine in Lakeville for 40 years.

Latest News

One dead, two hurt in Sharon car crash

Emergency responders block Amenia Union Road in Sharon Saturday, Oct. 11, while responding to the vehicle crash.

Photo by Patrick L. Sullivan

SHARON — Emergency crews were called Saturday, Oct. 11, to Amenia Union Road in Sharon for a report of a vehicle into a building with entrapment.

The call went out shortly after 3 p.m. with an update at 3:20 p.m. reporting one dead on arrival, two conscious. Emergency helicopter transport was requested.

Keep ReadingShow less
Rhys V. Bowen

LAKEVILLE — Rhys V. Bowen, 65, of Foxboro, Massachusetts, died unexpectedly in his sleep on Sept. 15, 2025. Rhys was born in Sharon, Connecticut, on April 9, 1960 to Anne H. Bowen and the late John G. Bowen. His brother, David, died in 1979.

Rhys grew up at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, where his father taught English. Attending Hotchkiss, Rhys excelled in academics and played soccer, basketball, and baseball. During these years, he also learned the challenges and joys of running, and continued to run at least 50 miles a week, until the day he died.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kelsey K. Horton

LAKEVILLE — Kelsey K. Horton, 43, a lifelong area resident, died peacefully on Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, at Norwalk Hospital in Norwalk, Connecticut, following a courageous battle with cancer. Kelsey worked as a certified nursing assistant and administrative assistant at Noble Horizons in Salisbury, from 1999 until 2024, where she was a very respected and loved member of their nursing and administrative staff.

Born Oct. 4, 1981, in Sharon, she was the daughter of W. Craig Kellogg of Southern Pines, North Carolina, and JoAnne (Lukens) Tuncy and her husband Donald of Millerton, New York. Kelsey graduated with the class of 1999 from Webutuck High School in Amenia and from BOCES in 1999 with a certificate from the CNA program as well. She was a longtime member of the Lakeville United Methodist Church in Lakeville. On Oct. 11, 2003, in Poughkeepsie, New York, she married James Horton. Jimmy survives at home in Lakeville. Kelsey loved camping every summer at Waubeeka Family Campground in Copake, and she volunteered as a cheer coach for A.R.C. Cheerleading for many years. Kelsey also enjoyed hiking and gardening in her spare time and spending time with her loving family and many dear friends.

Keep ReadingShow less
Eliot Warren Brown

SHARON — On Sept. 27, Eliot Warren Brown was shot and killed at age 47 at his home in New Orleans, Louisiana, in a random act of violence by a young man in need of mental health services. Eliot was born and raised in Sharon, Connecticut, and attended Indian Mountain School and Concord Academy in Massachusetts. He graduated from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. He and his wife Brooke moved to New Orleans to answer the call for help in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and fell in love with the city.

In addition to his wife Brooke, Eliot leaves behind his parents Malcolm and Louise Brown, his sisters Lucia (Thaddeus) and Carla (Ruairi), three nephews, and extended family and friends spread far and wide.

Keep ReadingShow less