Williams et al1 in the June 1993 issue of the Archives seem to favor a negative response to their question: ''Are viral warts seen more commonly in children with eczema?'' While this may refute the widely held notion, they do recognize several variable factors (ie, disease activity and involved or noninvolved skin) that introduce biases that blur the complete phenomenon.
During a period from 1989 through 1990, an expert faculty (six allergists and 12 dermatologists) was polled about this issue.2 On a scale of 1 (most negative) to 5 (most positive), an average score of 3.5 was recorded in response to the following question: ''Do atopics get more warts than nonatopics?'' Responses varied widely. The score was identical by specialty. There was no unanimity of opinion among the experts (four felt very strongly that there was a positive incidence, and three felt strongly that there was not).
Patients