ICD 10 Coding Alert

Question: Encounter notes indicate that a patient suffered from “ab rebound tenderness.” What is this condition, and how do I choose an ICD-10 code for it?

AAPC Forum Subscriber

Answer: This is abdominal rebound tenderness, a clinical sign that your physician likely elicited during a physical exam of the patient. The process involves the physician pressing gently and steadily on the abdomen and then releasing the pressure quickly. If the patient feels tenderness when the physician releases pressure, then the patient has rebound tenderness.

Do this: Go back and check the notes for the exact location of the tenderness. Then, select an ICD-10 code from the R10.821 (Right upper quadrant rebound abdominal tenderness) through R10.829 (Rebound abdominal tenderness, unspecified site) code set.