Epidemiology and associated factors of childhood chalazion in China: a seven-year, hospital-based, multicenter, cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE: To describe the epidemiology of childhood chalazion surgery under general anesthesia in China and identify factors associated with it. METHOD: The authors conducted a hospital-based, multicenter, cross-sectional study using retrospective inpatient data from the Futang Updating Medical Records System from 2016 to 2022. The study included 117,009 children who underwent ophthalmic surgery under general anesthesia at 22 tertiary hospitals. Age, sex, surgical season, and geographic region were analyzed. RESULTS: Of 117,009 pediatric ophthalmic procedures performed under general anesthesia, 33,489 (28.62 %) were chalazion excisions. Annual proportions remained stable at 25-33%. Most children were 1 to 3 years old, with a mean age at surgery of 3.30 years. After adjustment, female residents in North China, and surgery in autumn or winter were each associated with higher odds of chalazion surgery under general anesthesia than their respective reference groups. CONCLUSIONS: Childhood chalazion surgery under general anesthesia accounted for a substantial share of pediatric ophthalmic surgical volume in this multicenter national cohort. The highest surgical burden was observed among toddlers, girls, children treated in North China, and those undergoing surgery in autumn and winter.