Hepatitis ICD 10 code Tips for Coders

The word “hepatitis” comes from the roots “hepato” meaning liver and “itis” meaning inflammation. It could mean any form of inflammation of the liver, and indeed there are a number of different kinds of hepatitis with their own categories in the ICD-10-CM manual. B17.9 is a billable/specific ICD-10-CM code for hepatitis that can be used to indicate a diagnosis for reimbursement purposes.

Applicable To

• Acute hepatitis NOS
• Acute infectious hepatitis NOS

The form with the most diagnosis codes is viral hepatitis, which is an infection caused by either the hepatitis A, B, C, D, or E virus. The infection uniformly causes inflammation of the liver, but each type of hepatitis has its own treatments, means of spreading, length of illness, and effects on overall health.

In addition to viral hepatitis, there is also alcoholic hepatitis, which is caused by excessive drinking. Sometimes the autoimmune system might attack a patient’s liver, thereby causing autoimmune hepatitis. 

ICD 10 Index for Hepatitis

Chronic hepatitis, unspecified

Types/stages for different Hepatitis ICD 10 code

Hepatitis A

This type of hepatitis develops when the hepatitis A virus is contracted by oral contact with objects, food, or drinks which have been contaminated by the feces of an infected person. People can protect themselves from hepatitis A by getting vaccinated.

Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B is contracted by contact with blood, semen, or other body fluids from an infected person. This can be a short-term illness or a chronic infection, and the risk of chronic infection correlates with the age of the patient at the time of infection. The younger the patient, the more likely chronic infection becomes. Vaccinations can prevent hepatitis B.

Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C is a blood-borne illness which is transmitted typically by sharing needles or contaminated blood products. According to the CDC, 70% – 85% of people with hepatitis C develop the long-term, chronic form of the infection. There is no vaccine for hepatitis C.

Hepatitis D

This virus is an incomplete virus, as it only occurs in the presence of hepatitis B and cannot develop without the presence of the hepatitis B virus, according to the CDC. Hepatitis D can be contracted by percutaneous or mucosal contact with infected blood. It can be prevented by the hepatitis B vaccination if the patient does not already have hepatitis B.

Hepatitis E

This form of hepatitis develops from the hepatitis E virus and is a short-term infection. Patients contract hepatitis E through ingestion of fecal matter, and it is therefore usually found in countries with contaminated water supplies and poor sanitation. There is no FDA-approved vaccine to prevent hepatitis E, according to the CDC.

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Signs and symptoms

Some patients with hepatitis are asymptomatic while others may develop symptoms such as:

• Abdominal pain
• Dark urine
• Fatigue
• Fever
• Grey-colored stools
• Jaundice
• Joint pain
• Loss of appetite
• Nausea
• Vomiting

Treatment

Treatment for hepatitis varies by type and by whether the virus is chronic or acute. Some types of hepatitis will respond to antiviral drugs, and others need regular monitoring for signs of liver disease progression. Patients with hepatitis B or C may develop liver cancer.

Documentation and ICD 10 coding for Hepatitis

Hepatitis is found in Chapter 1, Certain Infectious and Parasitic Disease and Chapter 11, Diseases of the Digestive System of the ICD-10-CM manual.

Most hepatitis codes are located in Categories B15-B19 and are organized as follows:

• B15.-, acute hepatitis A
  • Fourth character denotes with hepatic coma (0) or without hepatic coma (9)
• B16.-, acute hepatitis B
  • Fourth character denotes with delta-agent with hepatic coma (0), with delta-agent without hepatic coma (1), without delta-agent with hepatic coma (2), without delta-agent and without hepatic coma (9)
• B17.-, other acute viral hepatitis
• B18.-, chronic viral hepatitis
  • Includes carrier of viral hepatitis
  • Fourth character denotes with delta-agent (0), without delta-agent (1), hepatitis C (2), other chronic viral hepatitis (8), unspecified (9)
• B19.-, unspecified viral hepatitis
  • Categories B17 and B19 both have multiple fourth- and fifth-character options. Category B17 has fourth-character options which specify the type of acute viral hepatitis, and subcategory B17.1- (acute hepatitis C) has fifth-character options for without hepatic coma (0) and with hepatic coma (1).
  • Category B19 (unspecified viral hepatitis) also uses fourth characters to specify type of hepatitis. Subcategories B19.1- (unspecified viral hepatitis B) and B19.2- (unspecified viral hepatitis C) use fifth characters to denote without hepatic coma (0) or with hepatic coma (1).
  • Any code in Categories B15-B19 for hepatitis with hepatic coma is classified as an MCC. All other hepatitis codes in Categories B15-B19 are CCs with the exception of B18.2 (chronic viral hepatitis C).

• The codes for alcoholic hepatitis reside in Chapter 11, Diseases of the Digestive System. There are essentially two codes for alcoholic hepatitis (K70.1-) depending on the presence (0) or absence (1) of ascites, an accumulation of excessive fluid in the abdominal cavity. Autoimmune hepatitis can be found under the category K75 (other inflammatory liver diseases) at code K75.4.