Health Information Management

Q&A: Coding for dyspnea due to respiratory ciliary dyskinesia

HIM Connection, August 31, 2010

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Q: Which code should I report for a patient who has dyspnea due to respiratory ciliary dyskinesia?

A: No code exists for this condition. Query the physician to determine whether the patient has primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) or Kartagener’s syndrome. Dorland’s Illustrated Medical Dictionary defines PCD as “any of a group of hereditary syndromes characterized by delayed or absent mucociliary clearance of the airways.” Kartagener’s syndrome is a condition in which patients have difficulty clearing mucus secretions from the respiratory tract; its defining characteristic is situs inversus, which is a reversal of abdominal and thoracic organs.
 
If the patient has PCD, report 786.09 (dyspnea and other respiratory abnormalities). If the patient has Kartagener’s syndrome, report 759.3 (situs inversus).
 
Editor’s note: Paula Archer, RHIA, managing consultant with BKD, LLP, in Little Rock, AR, answered this question in the August issue of Briefings on Coding Compliance Strategies.



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