Virus-Specific IgE and Histamine Release in Nasopharyngeal Secretions

To the Editor: I read with interest the report by Welliver et al. in the October 8 issue.* However, the data presented in their Figure 3, which relates the anti-RSV IgE titer to arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO₂), raise a question about the true strength of the association between these two variables. The legend states that the correlation of IgE with PaO₂ is -0.92 (P<0.001); yet, according to my calculation, assuming that x = 120 for all four points labeled “≥120” on the x axis, the 27 data points presented yield a correlation of -0.38.