Vision Science and Eye Health Journal
Vol. 5 No. 3 (2026): Vision Science and Eye Health Journal

Meta-Analysis: Incision and Curettage Superior to Steroid Injection for Chalazion Treatment

Aurilia Afia Bharata (Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, East Java)
Made Chindy Dwiyanti Marheni Putri (Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, East Java)
Delfitri Lutfi (Universitas Airlangga, Surabaya, East Java)



Article Info

Publish Date
31 Jul 2026

Abstract

Introduction: The most common inflammatory lesion of the eyelid, chalazion, can be treated in several ways. The optimal course of treatment is difficult to determine due to the high likelihood of recurrence. Purpose: This study aims to evaluate the outcomes and recurrence rates of chalazion treated with incision and curettage (I&C) compared with steroid injections. Methods: Publications were retrieved from PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar. Data on successful intervention, recurrences, and time to resolution were analyzed using RevMan 5.4. Results: Twelve studies published between 2018 and 2022 were included in this review, comprising 1,122 participants. The subjects were patients with primary chalazion, some of whom had failed conservative treatment. Chalazion size is variable; in some studies, it is grouped into small, medium, and large. We found that 577 participants received I&C, with a success rate of 82.15%, and 545 received steroid injections, with a success rate of 73.58%. Our meta-analysis showed an odds ratio of 0.59 (p = 0.0004). After the first procedure, recurrence rates were reported in 3 of the 12 studies, ranging from 3.3% to 8% for I&C and from 10% to 34% for steroid injection (SI). Conclusions: This study found a significant difference between the two interventions, favoring I&C, although most included studies reported no significant differences. Treatment selection should therefore consider patient and clinician preferences, individual clinical factors, patient comfort and cooperation, potential side effects, and chalazion size, with steroid injection being more convenient and I&C showing a higher success rate.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

VSEHJ

Publisher

Subject

Medicine & Pharmacology

Description

Vision Science and Eye Health Journal (VSEHJ) is a peer-reviewed open access scientific journal published by the Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Airlangga that welcomes original research, case reports, and scoping or systematic review manuscripts directed to ...