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Neurosurgery Coding Alert

READER QUESTIONS:

Communicate Hydrocephalus to Payers

Published on Sun Jan 01, 2006

Question: What is the appropriate diagnosis code for normal-pressure hydrocephalus (NPH)?


New York Subscriber
Answer: You should use ICD-9 code 331.3 (Communicating hydrocephalus) to report NPH. NPH and communicating hydrocephalus are both caused by the cerebrospinal fluid not being absorbed, and they are really the same thing. Thus, you would use 331.3 to report the disease regardless of the terminology your doctor uses.

Your neurosurgeon may perform one or more of the following diagnostic procedures to screen for NPH: ultrasound, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, lumbar puncture or tap, continuous lumbar CSF drainage, intracranial pressure monitoring, measurement of cerebrospinal fluid outflow resistance or isotopic cisternography, and neuropsychological testing.
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