Gastroenterology Coding Alert

Answer: For the most part, no. You’ll use the same R10.- codes you would for an adult patient, with one exception: for infants under 6 months of age, R10.83 (Colic) can come into play.

Colic is a pediatric condition affecting patients under six months of age that shares symptoms such as flatulence, burping, and a tight belly with abdominal pain. So, you may encounter a note where your gastroenterologist documents abdominal pain and colic.

Pay close attention to the patient’s age, which you may not be accustomed to doing if you don’t see many pediatric patients. If the colic occurs in a patient over 12 months old, you’ll need to use a code such as R10.84 (Generalized abdominal pain), instead of R10.83, per the Excludes1 note mentioned by the colic code in the ICD-10. Another Excludes1 code worth mentioning, which is listed for all R10 codes, is N23 (Unspecified renal colic). While rare in infants, you’ll report N23 if your gastroenteritis documents stomach pain associated with this particular form of colic.