I'm working with the NIS (national inpatient sample) and in dire need some help... I am trying to find the-time-to-procedure, which is a numeric variable. This is the way NIS database is laid out: Each observation can have multiple procedures (up to 15, i.e. PR_1 to PR_15). I have been using "array" statements to search for the procedures within each observation. I have been successful in obtaining counts (i.e. how many observations have a certain procedure of interest). However, to obtain the-time-to-procedure, I have to know the exact variable name (between PR_1 to PR_15) which the procedure falls under; because the-time-to-procedure variable is also named between x_1 to x _15 corresponding to number the procedure falls under PR_1 to PR_15 (depending on which variable_number the procedure was coded). i.e. If PR_2 = procedure of interest, PR_time_2 = time-to-procedure value If PR_12 = procedure of interest, PR_time_12 = time to procedure value The dataset has millions of observations. Therefore, I need a way to do this automatically defining the variable name (with the procedure of interest) and using that information to find the value (time to procedure) within each observation. Is there a way to do this using some sort of array or SQL language? Any help would be so appreciated,
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