PLEASE NOTE:

Your PUF Application must be completed in one session. Partially completed applications will not be saved in the system; if you close your browser before submitting your PUF Application, your work will be lost.

Before you begin, please review the PUF Application (PDF) and gather the required information and files. Some of the items you will need include:

1) STS National Database Participant ID - 5-digit number corresponding to the affiliated participant in the Adult Cardiac (ACSD), General Thoracic (GTSD), or Congenital Heart (CHSD) surgery databases; or the 4 letter code in case of STS Intermacs/Pedimacs database participants;
2) Principal Investigator contact information and biosketch;
3) Study Statistician information and biosketch;
4) File identifying any Co-­Investigators and providing their contact information;
5) File with proposal Research Plan; and
6) Completed Variable File that corresponds to your study. (Select the Adult Cardiac Variables File, the General Thoracic Variables File, the Congenital Heart Variables File, Intermacs Variables File or Pedimacs Variables File. Next, mark with an “X” in column A next to each variable you want included in your data file, save the file starting with PI initials, and then upload in the corresponding section of the application below.)

• Note: The Data Analytic Center for Intermacs/Pedimacs proposals derives many variables (i.e. intervals, indicators, etc.) to facilitate the analytical process for researchers requesting PUF files. To request a variable marked as PHI (e.g. death date, implant date, follow-up date, etc.), please refer to the "Derived Variables" worksheet, ordered by the research dataset (Device, Patient, Follow-up, Events) containing each variable, within the PUF Selection spreadsheet. Carefully review the variables of interest, referencing the "Guidance" column as necessary, before choosing your PUF variables.

For information about codes and values for each data variable in the final PUF sent to investigators, please visit the following links:

• Adult Cardiac: Adult Cardiac Surgery Database Data Collection
• General Thoracic: STS General Thoracic Surgery Database
• Congenital Heart: STS Congenital Heart Surgery Database
• Intermacs:
  • Intermacs Users Guide
  • De-identified Intermacs Data Set
• Pedimacs:
  • Pedimacs Users Guide
  • De-identified Pedimacs Data Set

PUF FEES

A $500 application fee is required to process your PUF request. You will be directed to the payment site after submitting your completed application. Incomplete applications will not be considered.

Final PUF study fees are primarily driven by the volume of data received by investigator (PUF size). These fees will generally range from $4,500 to $9,500; please refer to Exhibit C of the Data Use Agreement for additional information.