NOTE: Variable Uninitialized and WARNING: Variable has never been referenced

[tanya13]

Hello everyone! I'm using SAS version 9.4. I have 2 data sets that have overlapping participants and I have tried importing them in 2 different ways already (PROC IMPORT &  INFILE STATEMENT) to try and solve my problem. I am confused as to why I'm getting the following errors since when I use PROC CONTENTS and PROC PRINT I get all 233 and 860 observations along with all of the variables that are supposed to be there. 

NOTE: Updated analytical products:

SAS/STAT 14.1
SAS/ETS 14.1
SAS/OR 14.1
SAS/IML 14.1
SAS/QC 14.1

NOTE: Additional host information:

X64_8HOME WIN 6.2.9200 Workstation

NOTE: SAS initialization used:
real time 0.71 seconds
cpu time 0.62 seconds

1 /* IMPORT CSV FILE*/
2 data WORK.HCVSTEP;
3 infile 'C:\Users\Tanya Renteria\Desktop\ILE EVERYTHING\DATABASES FOR ILE\HCVSTEP_LINKED.CSV' firstobs=2 dlm=',' dsd ;
4 length SEQN 8 LINKED $3 AGECD 8 GENDER $4 RACE $5 IDUCD $3 HOUSECD $50 PCPCD $3 INSURCD $3
5 EDUCD $50 INCCD $3 PRIMLANG $20 RAPIDCD $20 VIRLD $20 REFTO1 $50 REFTO2 $50 COINFCD $3 VIRLDB 8 INSTYPE $50;
6 input SEQN LINKED $ AGECD GENDER $ RACE $ IDUCD $ HOUSECD $ PCPCD $ INSURCD $
7 EDUCD $ INCCD $ PRIMLANG $ RAPIDCD $ VIRLD $ REFTO1 $ REFTO2 $ COINFCD $ VIRLDB INSTYPE $;
8 label SEQN = 'Sequence Number'
9 LINKED = " Linked to Hepatitis C Care"
10 AGECD = 'Age'
11 GENDER = 'Gender'
12 RACE = 'Race'
13 IDUCD = 'Injection Drug Use'
14 HOUSECD = 'Housing Status'
15 PCPCD = 'Primary Care Provider'
16 INSURCD = 'Insurance Status'
17 EDUCD = 'Education'
18 INCCD = 'Income'
19 PRIMLANG = 'Primary Language'
20 RAPIDCD = 'Rapid Test Result'
21 VIRLD = ' Viral Load'
22 REFTO1 = 'First Location Referred to'
23 REFTO2 = ' Second Location Referred to'
24 COINFCD = 'Co-infection with HIV'
25 VIRLDB = 'Viral Load at Baseline'
26 INSTYPE = 'Insurance Type';
27 run;

NOTE: The infile 'C:\Users\Tanya Renteria\Desktop\ILE EVERYTHING\DATABASES FOR ILE\HCVSTEP_LINKED.CSV' is:
Filename=C:\Users\Tanya Renteria\Desktop\ILE EVERYTHING\DATABASES FOR ILE\HCVSTEP_LINKED.CSV,
RECFM=V,LRECL=32767,File Size (bytes)=24443,
Last Modified=06Mar2019:14:53:25,
Create Time=26Feb2019:02:42:54

NOTE: 233 records were read from the infile 'C:\Users\Tanya Renteria\Desktop\ILE EVERYTHING\DATABASES FOR ILE\HCVSTEP_LINKED.CSV'.
The minimum record length was 49.
The maximum record length was 141.
NOTE: The data set WORK.HCVSTEP has 233 observations and 19 variables.
NOTE: DATA statement used (Total process time):
real time 0.04 seconds
cpu time 0.04 seconds

28 /* IMPORT CSV FILE*/
29 data WORK.HVCFLOW2;
30 infile 'C:\Users\Tanya Renteria\Desktop\ILE EVERYTHING\DATABASES FOR ILE\HCVFLOW2.CSV' firstobs=2 dlm=',' dsd ;
31 length SEQN 8 LINKED $3 AGECD 8 GENDER $4 RACE $5 IDUCD $3 HOUSECD $50 PCPCD $3 INSURCD $3
32 EDUCD $50 INCCD $3 PRIMLANG $20 RAPIDCD $20 VIRLD $20 REFTO1 $50 REFTO2 $50 COINFCD $3 VIRLDB 8;
33 input SEQN LINKED $ AGECD GENDER $ RACE $ IDUCD $ HOUSECD $ PCPCD $ INSURCD $
34 EDUCD $ INCCD $ PRIMLANG $ RAPIDCD $ VIRLD $ REFTO1 $ REFTO2 $ COINFCD $ VIRLDB;
35 label SEQN = 'Sequence Number'
36 LINKED = " Linked to Hepatitis C Care"
37 AGECD = 'Age'
38 GENDER = 'Gender'
39 RACE = 'Race'
40 IDUCD = 'Injection Drug Use'
41 HOUSECD = 'Housing Status'
42 PCPCD = 'Primary Care Provider'
43 INSURCD = 'Insurance Status'
44 EDUCD = 'Education'
45 INCCD = 'Income'
46 PRIMLANG = 'Primary Language'
47 RAPIDCD = 'Rapid Test Result'
48 VIRLD = ' Viral Load'
49 REFTO1 = 'First Location Referred to'
50 REFTO2 = ' Second Location Referred to'
51 COINFCD = 'Co-infection with HIV'
52 VIRLDB = 'Viral Load at Baseline'
53 INSTYPE = 'Insurance Type';
54 run;

NOTE: Variable INSTYPE is uninitialized.
NOTE: The infile 'C:\Users\Tanya Renteria\Desktop\ILE EVERYTHING\DATABASES FOR ILE\HCVFLOW2.CSV' is:
Filename=C:\Users\Tanya Renteria\Desktop\ILE EVERYTHING\DATABASES FOR ILE\HCVFLOW2.CSV,
RECFM=V,LRECL=32767,File Size (bytes)=73995,
Last Modified=06Mar2019:14:52:56,
Create Time=03Mar2019:00:09:17

NOTE: 860 records were read from the infile 'C:\Users\Tanya Renteria\Desktop\ILE EVERYTHING\DATABASES FOR ILE\HCVFLOW2.CSV'.
The minimum record length was 37.
The maximum record length was 128.
NOTE: The data set WORK.HVCFLOW2 has 860 observations and 18 variables.
NOTE: DATA statement used (Total process time):
real time 0.04 seconds
cpu time 0.04 seconds

55 /* RENAME DATA SET */
56 data HCVSTEP;
57 set WORK.HCVSTEP;
58 run;

NOTE: There were 233 observations read from the data set WORK.HCVSTEP.
NOTE: The data set WORK.HCVSTEP has 233 observations and 19 variables.
NOTE: DATA statement used (Total process time):
real time 0.01 seconds
cpu time 0.01 seconds

59
60 /* RENAME DATA SET */
61 data HCVFLOW2;
62 set WORK.HVCFLOW2;
63 run;

NOTE: There were 860 observations read from the data set WORK.HVCFLOW2.
NOTE: The data set WORK.HCVFLOW2 has 860 observations and 18 variables.
NOTE: DATA statement used (Total process time):
real time 0.01 seconds
cpu time 0.01 seconds

64 /* CHECK DATA SET */
65 proc contents data = HCVSTEP;
NOTE: Writing HTML Body file: sashtml.htm
66 run;

NOTE: PROCEDURE CONTENTS used (Total process time):
real time 0.32 seconds
cpu time 0.28 seconds

67 proc print data = HCVSTEP label;
68 run;

NOTE: There were 233 observations read from the data set WORK.HCVSTEP.
NOTE: PROCEDURE PRINT used (Total process time):
real time 0.14 seconds
cpu time 0.12 seconds

69 /* CHECK DATA SET */
70 proc contents data = HCVFLOW2;
71 run;

NOTE: PROCEDURE CONTENTS used (Total process time):
real time 0.01 seconds
cpu time 0.00 seconds

72 proc print data = HCVFLOW2 label;
73 run;

NOTE: There were 860 observations read from the data set WORK.HCVFLOW2.
NOTE: PROCEDURE PRINT used (Total process time):
real time 0.42 seconds
cpu time 0.42 seconds

74 proc sort data= HCVSTEP; by SEQN; run;

NOTE: There were 233 observations read from the data set WORK.HCVSTEP.
NOTE: The data set WORK.HCVSTEP has 233 observations and 19 variables.
NOTE: PROCEDURE SORT used (Total process time):
real time 0.01 seconds
cpu time 0.01 seconds

75 proc format;
76 value GENDER
77 1 = 'Male'
78 2 = 'Female'
79 3 = 'MTF'
80 4 = 'FTM';
NOTE: Format GENDER has been output.
81 value RACE
82 1 = 'Latino'
83 2 = 'White'
84 3 = 'African American'
85 4 = 'Native American'
86 5 = 'Mixed'
87 6 = 'Unknown';
NOTE: Format RACE has been output.
88 value AGECAT
89 1 = '18 - 29'
90 2 = '30 - 39'
91 3 = '40 - 49'
92 4 = '50 - 59'
93 5 = 'Greater than 60';
NOTE: Format AGECAT has been output.
94 value agedi
95 1 = 'Younger'
96 2 = 'Older';
NOTE: Format AGEDI has been output.
97 value VIRLDB
98 1 = 'LOW' /* IF LESS THAN 800,000 IU/ml*/
99 2 = 'HIGH';
NOTE: Format VIRLDB has been output.
99 ! /* IF MORE THAN 800,000 IU/ml*/
100 run;

NOTE: PROCEDURE FORMAT used (Total process time):
real time 0.04 seconds
cpu time 0.04 seconds

101 DATA HCVSTEP;
102 if AGECD <18 and AGECD ge 100 then delete;
103 /*RENAMING VARIABLES FOR EASE OF USE*/
104 rename AGECD=AGE IDUCD= IDU HOUSECD= HOUSING
105 PCPCD= PRIMARYCARE INSURCD= INSURANCE EDUCD= EDUCATION INCCD= INCOME
106 PRIMLANG= LANGUAGE RAPIDCD= RAPID COINFCD= COINFECTION;
107 /*MAKING AGE GROUPS*/
108 if AGECD ge 18 AND AGECD < 30 then AGECAT=1;
109 else if AGECD ge 30 AND AGECD < 40 then AGECAT=2;
110 else if AGECD ge 40 AND AGECD < 50 then AGECAT=3;
111 else if AGECD ge 50 AND AGECD < 60 then AGECAT=4;
112 else if AGECD ge 60 then AGECAT=5;
113 if AGECD le 50 then AGEDI=1;
114 else AGEDI=2;
115 /*FORMATTING VARIABLES*/
116 /*MAKING GENDER GROUPS*/
117 if GENDER = 'M' then GENDCAT= 1;
118 else if GENDER = 'F' then GENDCAT=2;
119 else if GENDER = 'MTF' then GENDCAT=3;
120 else if GENDER = 'FTM' then GENDCAT=4;
121 if VIRLDB < 800000 then VIRLDB=1;
122 else if VIRLDB > 800000 then VIRLDB=2;
123 keep SEQN AGE AGECAT AGEDI GENDER RACE IDU HOUSING PRIMARYCARE INSURANCE
124 EDUCATION INCOME LANGUAGE RAPID COINFECTION VIRLD REFTO1 REFTO2 VIRLDB INSTYPE;
125 run;

NOTE: Variable AGECD is uninitialized.
NOTE: Variable GENDER is uninitialized.
WARNING: The variable SEQN in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable AGE in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable RACE in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable IDU in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable HOUSING in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable PRIMARYCARE in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable INSURANCE in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable EDUCATION in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable INCOME in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable LANGUAGE in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable RAPID in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable COINFECTION in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable VIRLD in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable REFTO1 in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable REFTO2 in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable INSTYPE in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable AGECD in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable IDUCD in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable HOUSECD in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable PCPCD in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable INSURCD in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable EDUCD in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable INCCD in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable PRIMLANG in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable RAPIDCD in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable COINFCD in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
NOTE: The data set WORK.HCVSTEP has 1 observations and 4 variables.
NOTE: DATA statement used (Total process time):
real time 0.04 seconds
cpu time 0.03 seconds

The code that I'm using is the following:

/* IMPORT CSV FILE*/
data WORK.HCVSTEP;
infile 'C:\Users\Tanya Renteria\Desktop\ILE EVERYTHING\DATABASES FOR ILE\HCVSTEP_LINKED.CSV' firstobs=2 dlm=',' dsd ;
length SEQN 8 LINKED $3 AGECD 8 GENDER $4 RACE $5 IDUCD $3 HOUSECD $50 PCPCD $3 INSURCD $3
EDUCD $50 INCCD $3 PRIMLANG $20 RAPIDCD $20 VIRLD $20 REFTO1 $50 REFTO2 $50 COINFCD $3 VIRLDB 8 INSTYPE $50;
input SEQN LINKED $ AGECD GENDER $ RACE $ IDUCD $ HOUSECD $ PCPCD $ INSURCD $
EDUCD $ INCCD $ PRIMLANG $ RAPIDCD $ VIRLD $ REFTO1 $ REFTO2 $ COINFCD $ VIRLDB INSTYPE $;
label SEQN = 'Sequence Number'
LINKED = " Linked to Hepatitis C Care"
AGECD = 'Age'
GENDER = 'Gender'
RACE = 'Race'
IDUCD = 'Injection Drug Use'
HOUSECD = 'Housing Status'
PCPCD = 'Primary Care Provider'
INSURCD = 'Insurance Status'
EDUCD = 'Education'
INCCD = 'Income'
PRIMLANG = 'Primary Language'
RAPIDCD = 'Rapid Test Result'
VIRLD = ' Viral Load'
REFTO1 = 'First Location Referred to'
REFTO2 = ' Second Location Referred to'
COINFCD = 'Co-infection with HIV'
VIRLDB = 'Viral Load at Baseline'
INSTYPE = 'Insurance Type';
run;

/* IMPORT CSV FILE*/
data WORK.HVCFLOW2;
infile 'C:\Users\Tanya Renteria\Desktop\ILE EVERYTHING\DATABASES FOR ILE\HCVFLOW2.CSV' firstobs=2 dlm=',' dsd ;
length SEQN 8 LINKED $3 AGECD 8 GENDER $4 RACE $5 IDUCD $3 HOUSECD $50 PCPCD $3 INSURCD $3
EDUCD $50 INCCD $3 PRIMLANG $20 RAPIDCD $20 VIRLD $20 REFTO1 $50 REFTO2 $50 COINFCD $3 VIRLDB 8;
input SEQN LINKED $ AGECD GENDER $ RACE $ IDUCD $ HOUSECD $ PCPCD $ INSURCD $
EDUCD $ INCCD $ PRIMLANG $ RAPIDCD $ VIRLD $ REFTO1 $ REFTO2 $ COINFCD $ VIRLDB;
label SEQN = 'Sequence Number'
LINKED = " Linked to Hepatitis C Care"
AGECD = 'Age'
GENDER = 'Gender'
RACE = 'Race'
IDUCD = 'Injection Drug Use'
HOUSECD = 'Housing Status'
PCPCD = 'Primary Care Provider'
INSURCD = 'Insurance Status'
EDUCD = 'Education'
INCCD = 'Income'
PRIMLANG = 'Primary Language'
RAPIDCD = 'Rapid Test Result'
VIRLD = ' Viral Load'
REFTO1 = 'First Location Referred to'
REFTO2 = ' Second Location Referred to'
COINFCD = 'Co-infection with HIV'
VIRLDB = 'Viral Load at Baseline'
INSTYPE = 'Insurance Type';
run;

/* RENAME DATA SET */
data HCVSTEP;
set WORK.HCVSTEP;
run;

/* RENAME DATA SET */
data HCVFLOW2;
set WORK.HVCFLOW2;
run;

/* CHECK DATA SET */
proc contents data = HCVSTEP;
run;
proc print data = HCVSTEP label;
run;

/* CHECK DATA SET */
proc contents data = HCVFLOW2;
run;
proc print data = HCVFLOW2 label;
run;

proc sort data= HCVSTEP; by SEQN; run;

proc sort data= HCVFLOW2; by SEQN; run;

proc format;
value GENDER
1 = 'Male'
2 = 'Female'
3 = 'MTF'
4 = 'FTM';
value RACE
1 = 'Latino'
2 = 'White'
3 = 'African American'
4 = 'Native American'
5 = 'Mixed'
6 = 'Unknown';
value AGECAT
1 = '18 - 29'
2 = '30 - 39'
3 = '40 - 49'
4 = '50 - 59'
5 = 'Greater than 60';
value agedi
1 = 'Younger'
2 = 'Older';
value VIRLDB
1 = 'LOW' /* IF LESS THAN 800,000 IU/ml*/
2 = 'HIGH'; /* IF MORE THAN 800,000 IU/ml*/
run;

DATA HCVSTEP;
if AGECD <18 and AGECD ge 100 then delete;
/*RENAMING VARIABLES FOR EASE OF USE*/
rename AGECD=AGE IDUCD= IDU HOUSECD= HOUSING
PCPCD= PRIMARYCARE INSURCD= INSURANCE EDUCD= EDUCATION INCCD= INCOME
PRIMLANG= LANGUAGE RAPIDCD= RAPID COINFCD= COINFECTION;
/*MAKING AGE GROUPS*/
if AGECD ge 18 AND AGECD < 30 then AGECAT=1;
else if AGECD ge 30 AND AGECD < 40 then AGECAT=2;
else if AGECD ge 40 AND AGECD < 50 then AGECAT=3;
else if AGECD ge 50 AND AGECD < 60 then AGECAT=4;
else if AGECD ge 60 then AGECAT=5;
if AGECD le 50 then AGEDI=1;
else AGEDI=2;
/*FORMATTING VARIABLES*/
/*MAKING GENDER GROUPS*/
if GENDER = 'M' then GENDCAT= 1;
else if GENDER = 'F' then GENDCAT=2;
else if GENDER = 'MTF' then GENDCAT=3;
else if GENDER = 'FTM' then GENDCAT=4;
if VIRLDB < 800000 then VIRLDB=1;
else if VIRLDB > 800000 then VIRLDB=2;
keep SEQN AGE AGECAT AGEDI GENDER RACE IDU HOUSING PRIMARYCARE INSURANCE
EDUCATION INCOME LANGUAGE RAPID COINFECTION VIRLD REFTO1 REFTO2 VIRLDB INSTYPE;
run;

I don't understand how I'm ending up with 1 observation and 4 variables if when I checked the data sets before the last data step everything was there. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

[Kurt_Bremser]

In this step:

101 DATA HCVSTEP;
102 if AGECD <18 and AGECD ge 100 then delete;
103 /*RENAMING VARIABLES FOR EASE OF USE*/
104 rename AGECD=AGE IDUCD= IDU HOUSECD= HOUSING
105 PCPCD= PRIMARYCARE INSURCD= INSURANCE EDUCD= EDUCATION INCCD= INCOME
106 PRIMLANG= LANGUAGE RAPIDCD= RAPID COINFCD= COINFECTION;
107 /*MAKING AGE GROUPS*/
108 if AGECD ge 18 AND AGECD < 30 then AGECAT=1;
109 else if AGECD ge 30 AND AGECD < 40 then AGECAT=2;
110 else if AGECD ge 40 AND AGECD < 50 then AGECAT=3;
111 else if AGECD ge 50 AND AGECD < 60 then AGECAT=4;
112 else if AGECD ge 60 then AGECAT=5;
113 if AGECD le 50 then AGEDI=1;
114 else AGEDI=2;
115 /*FORMATTING VARIABLES*/
116 /*MAKING GENDER GROUPS*/
117 if GENDER = 'M' then GENDCAT= 1;
118 else if GENDER = 'F' then GENDCAT=2;
119 else if GENDER = 'MTF' then GENDCAT=3;
120 else if GENDER = 'FTM' then GENDCAT=4;
121 if VIRLDB < 800000 then VIRLDB=1;
122 else if VIRLDB > 800000 then VIRLDB=2;
123 keep SEQN AGE AGECAT AGEDI GENDER RACE IDU HOUSING PRIMARYCARE INSURANCE
124 EDUCATION INCOME LANGUAGE RAPID COINFECTION VIRLD REFTO1 REFTO2 VIRLDB INSTYPE;
125 run;

you do not provide any data for input. There is no set or merge statement to read from existing datasets, or an infile with input to read from external files. That causes all your variables to be implicitly declarated and left missing.

[tanya13]

Thank you so much for the prompt reply. I tried changing the last data step like suggested and used a merge statement. The code now looks like this for that particular step:

DATA ILE;
merge HCVSTEP HCVFLOW2; by SEQN;
set HCVSTEP;
if AGECD <18 and AGECD ge 100 then delete;
/*RENAMING VARIABLES FOR EASE OF USE*/
rename AGECD=AGE IDUCD= IDU HOUSECD= HOUSING
PCPCD= PRIMARYCARE INSURCD= INSURANCE EDUCD= EDUCATION INCCD= INCOME
PRIMLANG= LANGUAGE RAPIDCD= RAPID COINFCD= COINFECTION;
/*MAKING AGE GROUPS*/
if AGECD ge 18 AND AGECD < 30 then AGECAT=1;
else if AGECD ge 30 AND AGECD < 40 then AGECAT=2;
else if AGECD ge 40 AND AGECD < 50 then AGECAT=3;
else if AGECD ge 50 AND AGECD < 60 then AGECAT=4;
else if AGECD ge 60 then AGECAT=5;
if AGECD le 50 then AGEDI=1;
else AGEDI=2;
/*FORMATTING VARIABLES*/
/*MAKING GENDER GROUPS*/
if GENDER = 'M' then GENDCAT= 1;
else if GENDER = 'F' then GENDCAT=2;
else if GENDER = 'MTF' then GENDCAT=3;
else if GENDER = 'FTM' then GENDCAT=4;
if VIRLDB < 800000 then VIRLDB=1;
else if VIRLDB > 800000 then VIRLDB=2;
keep SEQN AGE AGECAT AGEDI GENDER RACE IDU HOUSING PRIMARYCARE INSURANCE
EDUCATION INCOME LANGUAGE RAPID COINFECTION VIRLD REFTO1 REFTO2 VIRLDB INSTYPE;
run;

BUT I keep getting a warning saying that several variables have never been referenced. Although this did somewhat solve the problem of only having 4 variables and 1 observation since now the new dataset (ILE) has 233 observations and 10 variables. My question would now be how could I get all of the 860 observations from the HCVFLOW2 data set when I try to merge it with the HCVSTEP data set. 233 of those observations overlap which I'm guessing that those are the ones that were output when I created the new ILE data set. Also the original HCVFLOW2 data set has 18 variables and the original STEPHCV data set has 19 and they practically completely overlap except for 1 variable. So I'm not really sure why I'm only getting 10 variables after merging. This is the warning I'm getting:

WARNING: The variable AGE in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable IDU in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable HOUSING in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable PRIMARYCARE in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable INSURANCE in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable EDUCATION in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable INCOME in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable LANGUAGE in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable RAPID in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable COINFECTION in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable AGECD in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable IDUCD in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable HOUSECD in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable PCPCD in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable INSURCD in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable EDUCD in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable INCCD in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable PRIMLANG in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable RAPIDCD in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
WARNING: The variable COINFCD in the DROP, KEEP, or RENAME list has never been referenced.
NOTE: There were 54 observations read from the data set WORK.HCVSTEP.
NOTE: There were 235 observations read from the data set WORK.HCVFLOW2.
NOTE: There were 233 observations read from the data set WORK.HCVSTEP.
NOTE: The data set WORK.ILE has 233 observations and 10 variables.
NOTE: DATA statement used (Total process time):
real time 0.03 seconds
cpu time 0.03 seconds

[Kurt_Bremser]

Maxim 3: Know Your Data.

Inspect the datasets HCVSTEP HCVFLOW2 for their contents.

[tanya13]

Thank you again! It seems like the problem was that after DATA ILE; I put a set statement (SET HCVSTEP; RUN;) and somehow this was messing up my observations. I know have merged both of the data sets and have 860 observations as expected. Thanks a lot for your help!

[RW9]

Please mark @Kurt_Bremser 's answer correct then.

In future please remember to post code/logs using the program window - it is the {i} above the post area.  And for the purposes of other users reading your code, use common practice techniques such as not writing all in uppercase, indentations etc. to make the code legible.  One big block of all uppercase text is not conducive to reading.