To report on the clinical manifestations, species and treatments of patients with chronic canaliculitis.

From August 2003 to February 2012, 77 eyes of 77 patients who were diagnosed with chronic canaliculitis at our hospital were retrospectively analyzed.

The mean period from the onset of symptoms to diagnosis was 4.7 months. The most common systemic disease associated with chronic canaliculitis was diabetes (18 eyes, 23%), and 13 eyes (17%) were related to punctual plug insertion. Main symptoms consisted of epiphora with discharge and pouting punctum. In the culture results of 55 eyes, streptococci , staphylococci , and actinomyces among other bacteria were identified. Seventy-two eyes (94%) were cured with one-snip punctoplasty with curettage.

Chronic canaliculitis is rare, and the clinical aspect can be obscured by chronic conjunctivitis, thus the diagnosis is often delayed. In patients who have systemic diseases such as diabetes or past history of punctual plug insertion, chronic canaliculitis should be differentiated by observing the punctum more closely. If the diagnosis is accurate at the time, chronic canaliculitis could be easily cured by a relatively simple procedure such as one-snip punctoplasty with curettage.