Neurosurgery Coding Alert

Question: Our physician is suspecting Zika virus infection in a newborn infant who was diagnosed microcephaly. What are the symptoms of Zika virus infection? Is it known to affect newborn infants? What diagnosis codes can we submit for Zika virus infection?

Georgia Subscriber

Answer: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the symptoms of Zika virus infection include fever, rash, joint pain, conjunctivitis, muscle pain, and headache. The illness is usually mild and may last a few days. The only treatment for Zika virus is symptomatic treatment with rest,

hydration, and antipyretics and analgesics for fever and pain. There is currently no vaccine for the prevention or treatment of Zika virus infection. Infections are reported in pregnant women. When occurring in pregnancy, the infection may result in microcephaly and other abnormalities in new born infants.

The CDC currently has no reports for locally transmitted cases reported in the US though there are cases reported in returning travelers to the US. To know more about the Zika virus infection, you can visit the Zika Virus Resource Center of the American Medical Association (AMA) at http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/public-health/zika-resource-center.page.

Diagnosis codes: There are no specific diagnosis codes for Zika virus infection. You select the diagnosis codes based on symptoms. For example, when your physician documents fever, you submit ICD-10 code A92.8 (Other specified mosquito-borne viral fever). For pregnant women who develop Zika virus infection, you submit code O98.5 (Other viral diseases complicating pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium). If an infected newborn develops microcephaly, you submit code Q02 (Microcephaly).