Rubella Synovitis

Abstract

The features of 5 patients with rubella synovitis severe enough to warrant hospital admission are described. Adult females are affected and show acute polyarthritis and tenosynovitis affecting particularly the wrist and knee joints and the small joints of the hands. The clinical course in 1 patient with arthritis associated with a carpal tunnel syndrome and tenosynovitis is described. The synovial fluid in all 5 cases showed an almost complete absence of polymorphs and a high incidence of mononuclear cells, mainly macrophages, synovial cells, and lymphocytes.