Oncology & Hematology Coding Alert

You Be the Coder:

Pinpoint the Correct Lymphoma Code

Published on Thu Jun 25, 2020

Question: My provider recently had me code for a non-Hodgkin lymphoma that affected the spleen. I can’t find any code specific to the spleen. Should I use the unspecified ICD-10 code C85.90?

South Dakota Subscriber

Answer: For this situation, the code you should use is C85.97 (Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, unspecified, spleen). The big giveaway that you want to use this code is the specificity of its definition. Remember to always code to the highest level of specificity. The code you suggested, C85.90 (Non-Hodgkin lymphoma, unspecified, unspecified site) does not indicate the site you want to code for. In your case, you know you are coding for the spleen, so C85.97 would be the appropriate code choice.

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