To explore the clinical efficacy of intense pulsed light (IPL) in the treatment of chalazion in children.

A total of 21 children (33 eyes) with idiopathic chalazion diagnosed and treated with IPL in the Dry Eye Center of the First Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from December 2022 to March 2023 were collected. Among them, there were 8 males (13 eyes) and 13 females (20 eyes) with an average age of (4.0±2.3) years (ranged from 2 to 12 years). All patients were treated with IPL around the eyes, and referred to before and after the treatment and follow-up phone call for patients′ parents, the real description was obtained. The treatment results of chalazion were graded as follows: cure (chalazion subsided), improvement (chalazion reduction), invalid (no change). The base information of patients′gender, age, eye type, the onset time of chalazion, the location of chalazion, the size of chalazion and the treatment results were recorded. Data was described by the number of cases (eyes) and percentage.

All 21 patients (33 eyes) underwent IPL treatment. There were 13 cases (20 eyes) with cure, 8 cases (13 eyes) with improvement, 0 (0 eyes) with invalid, accounting for 60.6%, 39.4% and 0.0%, respectively. Among patients with chalazion, 5 patients (10 eyes) had a history of chalazion for less than <4 weeks before treatment, accounting for 30.30%. Among them, there were 2 cases (4 eyes) with cure, 3 cases (6 eyes) with improvement, 0 case (0 eye) with invalid, accounting for 40.0% (4/10), 60.0% (6/10), 0.0% (0/10), respectively. There were 13 cases (19 eyes) with a history of chalazion for ≥4 weeks and <8 weeks before treatment, accounting for 57.58%. Among them, there were 10 cases (15 eyes) with cure, 3 cases (4 eyes) with improvement, 0 case (0 eye) with invalid, accounting for 78.9% (15/19), 21.1% (4/19), 0.0% (0/19), respectively. Before treatment, 3 cases (4 eyes) had chalazion for ≥8 weeks, accounting for 12.12%. Among them, there were 1 case (1 eye) with cure, 2 cases (3 eyes) with improvement, 0 case (0 eye) with invalid, accounting for 25.0% (1/4), 75.0% (3/4), 0.0% (0/4), respectively. Of the 21 patients (33 eyes) with chalazion, 8 patients (13 eyes) with skin-type chalazion, accounting for 39.39%. Among them, there were 6 cases (10 eyes) with cure, 2 cases (3 eyes) with improvement, 0 case (0 eye) with invalid, accounting for 76.9% (10/13), 23.1% (3/13), 0.0% (0/13), respectively. There were 12 cases (18 eyes) of chalazion type on the conjunctival surface, accounting for 54.55%. Among them, there were 7 cases (10 eyes) with cure, 4 cases (8 eyes) with improvement, 0 case (0 eye) with invalid, accounting for 55.6% (10/18), 44.4% (8/18), 0.0% (0/18), respectively. There were 2 cases (2 eyes) of chalazion type near the eyelid margin, accounting for 6.06%. Among them, there were 0 case (0 eye) with cure, 2 cases (2 eyes) with improvement, 0 case (0 eye) with invalid, accounting for 0.0% (0/2), 100.0% (2/2) and 0.0% (0/2).

IPL has a definite therapeutic effect in the treatment of chalazion in children. The cure rate of chalazion on the skin surface is higher than that on the conjunctiva surface. Patients with chalazion for ≥4 weeks and <8 weeks before treatment have a higher cure rate, and no serious adverse reactions were observed during the IPL treatment.