Yellow Nail Syndrome – Diagnosis, Differential Diagnosis, Treatment Options

Yellow nail syndrome (YNS) is a rare, but relatively well characterized triad of slow growing yellow nails, lymphedema of the distal portions of the upper and lower limbs as well as chronic infection of the respiratory tract and/or pleural effusion. The most characteristic features of this syndrome are the nail changes that allow the diagnosis to be made even if the triad is not complete. Yellow discoloration of the nails is nonspecific and often seen in onychomycosis, nail psoriasis, a variety of other conditions that are associated with onycholysis. Distal limb edema may not be very pronounced. In addition to the bronchopulmonary disorders, malignancies, chronic heart conditions and gastrointestinal diseases may occur. Treatment after exclusion of non-YNS conditions is aimed at finding the underlying systemic disorder, which usually requires a very long therapy and a lot of patience both from the patient as well as the treating physician.