[5] Most people with yellow nail syndrome (four fifths) have lymphedema; it is symmetrical and typically affects both legs.

Forty percent of people with yellow nail syndrome have chronic sinusitis.

[5] Yellow nail syndrome has been associated with some drugs, e.g. penicillamine, bucillamine and gold sodium thiomalate.

People with pleural effusions may show evidence of restriction in lung volumes due to the fluid.

Analysis of the fluid in pleural effusions generally shows high levels of protein but low levels of cholesterol and lactate dehydrogenase, but about 30% of effusions are chylous (chylothorax) in that they have the characteristics of lymph.

Nutritional supplementation with Vitamin E in some studies has been shown to be effective in controlling nail changes.

[5] The condition was first reported by Heller in 1927 and the first case series was described in a publication in 1964 by London physicians Peter Samman and William White.