Pleural calcification: a type of "metastatic calcification" in chronic renal failure.

Pulmonary calcifications associated with chronic renal failure are rare conditions. However, a few such cases have been reported in the literature, and they were regarded as a sign of secondary hyperparathyroidism. Pleural calcification induced by secondary hyperparathyroidism has not been reported in the literature. We report four cases of slow-growing pleural calcification which are considered to have been induced by hyperparathyroidism, in patients undergoing maintenance haemodialysis for chronic renal failure. CT scan was useful for the detection of calcified lesions in the pleura.