Face mask use and chalazion procedures over 8 years of US medicare data

Despite initial concerns and small clinical series suggesting alink between mask use and chalazion, our analysis of Medicaredata does not support this hypothesis. The combined rate ofchalazion-related procedures remained broadly stable through-out the study period. The divergent trends observed betweenCPT 67700 and CPT 67800 are therefore more consistent withshifts in coding practices or reimbursement dynamics than witha true epidemiologic effect of mask wearing. Although procedurerates reflect healthcare utilization patterns among Medicarebeneficiaries and should not be interpreted as direct measuresof chalazion incidence in the general population, large-scalepopulation data remain essential to critically reassess widelycirculated clinical claims and to distinguish true epidemiologicsignals from artefacts of healthcare delivery.