The distribution and abundance of multiple chalazia in pediatrics receiving surgery in Zhejiang province, China: a hospital-based cross-sectional study.

Background: To investigate the distribution and abundance of multiple chalazia in pediatric patients that need surgical treatments.Methods: Patients with multiple chalazia treated in a tertiary Children's Hospital were reviewed between June and December 2016. Demographic data, locations and numbers of chalazia were recorded. Data were analyzed using generalized linear models of the counts and the occurrences of chalazia. Hypotheses were tested using likelihood ratio tests appropriate for each type of data.Results: The study included 128 subjects, most of which were 1-3 years of age. The majority of patients had bilateral chalazia (95.3%), and the proportions of patients with internal, external and marginal chalazion differed significantly (99.2%, 61.7% and 2.3% respectively). The total number of internal chalazia had a negative binomial distribution, whereas the total number of external chalazia followed a Poisson distribution. The number of internal and external chalazia did not differ significantly with gender, age, or residence of patients. Internal chalazia were located more frequently on the upper lids (P < 0.01). External chalazia showed no preference of localization. The average abundance of internal chalazia on each eyelid did not relate to the presence of external chalazia.Conclusions: In Zhejiang province, China, multiple chalazia that require surgery are more common among younger children (aged 1-3 years) than older ones. The anatomical distribution varies depending on the chalazion’s types. Multiple chalazia often occur bilaterally and internally. Doctors should pay more attention to the anatomical distribution to achieve a higher success rate in chalazion surgery.