Yellow nail syndrome and xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis.

We report a case of a 74-year-old woman exhibiting the yellow nail syndrome in association with ipsilateral xanthogranulomatous pyelonephritis. Nephrectomy resulted in complete resolution of the pleural effusion and slow improvement of the yellow nails. This report calls attention to the renal-related pleural effusion, and to the thorough investigation needed for the yellow nail syndrome.