Anesthesia Coding Alert

Only the code will change under ICD-10, not the descriptor.

If your anesthesiologist participates in a surgery to repair a peritoneal abscess, your diagnosis selection is simple under both ICD-9 and ICD-10.

Currently, you report 567.22 (Peritoneal abscess) for the diagnosis. When ICD-10 goes into effect, you'll select K65.1 (Peritonal abscess).

Explanation: Peritoneal abscess can be caused by a ruptured appendix, ruptured intestinal diverticulum, inflammatory bowel disease, or parasitic infection in the intestines. The result is a pocket of infected fluid and pus within the abdominal cavity. Check the surgeon's record for documentation of any of these conditions so you can include that diagnosis on your claim, as appropriate.

Documentation: Pay attention to similar terms that the physician could use when describing peritoneal abscess. Diagnosis K65.1 also will apply to abdominopelvic abscess, abscess of the omentum or peritoneum, mesenteric abscess, retrocecal abscess, subdiaphragmatic abscess, subhepatic abscess, and subphrenic abscess.