Anesthesia Coding Alert

Plus: Prepare now for expanded diagnosis choices under ICD-10. Your physician's notes document "radiculopathy," but that doesn't send you to a clear-cut diagnosis code. Dig deeper for the cause of the patient's problem and the affected region to make the best choice. Identify the Signs and Causes Radiculopathy occurs when one or more spinal nerve roots become inflamed, compressed, or suffer a compromised blood supply. The nerve root problem can lead to pain, weakness, or numbness in the region(s) affected by the individual spinal nerve(s). ICD-9 Includes two primary choices for radiculopathy diagnoses: ICD-9 723.4 (Brachial neuritis or radiculitis NOS) or ICD-9 724.4 (Thoracic or lumbosacral neuritis or radiculitis, unspecified). Caution: Diagnosis ICD-9 724.2 (Lumbago) refers to lumbago or low back pain. Radiculopathy in the lumbosacral region of the spine can present as low back pain, so it's important to determine whether the patient has low back pain or radiculopathy. [...]