Orthopedic Coding Alert

If the patient condition includes radiculopathy, do this. 

Neuritis means a nerve inflammation or general inflammation of the peripheral nervous system, while radiculitis means the patient has pain radiating along the nerve paths due to inflammation of the spinal nerve roots. 

Similarly, when a patient as radiculopathy of the spine, this means that one or more of her nerves do not work properly. The emphasis of the problem is on the nerve root. This results in pain, weakness, numbness, or difficult controlling specific muscles. 

ICD-9-CM Codes: Currently, you should report this condition with one of the following codes:

• 724.4, Thoracic or lumbosacral neuritis or radiculitis unspecified

• 729.2, Neuralgia neuritis and radiculitis unspecified

• 723.4, Brachial neuritis or radiculitis NOS.

ICD-10-CM Codes: After your diagnosis system changes, you’ll report one of these codes:

• M54.11, Radiculopathy, occipito-atlanto-axial region

• M54.12, Radiculopathy, cervical region

• M54.13, Radiculopathy, cervicothoracic region

• M54.14, Radiculopathy, thoracic region

• M54.15, Radiculopathy, thoracolumbar region

• M54.16, Radiculopathy, lumbar region

• M54.17, Radiculopathy, lumbosacral region

• M54.18, Radiculopathy, sacral and sacrococcygeal region.

ICD-10-CM Change: Your ICD-9-CM codes reflecting neuritis or radiculitis expand into radiculopathy codes (M54.11-M54.18). These ICD-10-CM codes specify precise areas of the spine. 

Code 724.4 expands into M54.14, M54.15, M54.16, and M54.17.

Code 729.2 expands to M54.10 and M72.9-.

Code 723.4 expands to M54.11, M54.12, and M54.13.

Documentation: Your provider may document any of the following terms:

• Brachial neuritis or radiculitis NOS

• Lumbar neuritis or radiculitis NOS

• Lumbosacral nueritis or radiculitis NOS

• Thoracici neuritis or radiculitis NOS

• Radiculitis NOS

Here is how you will locate these codes in the Alphabetic Index:

Neuritis (rheumatoid) M79.2

- lumbar M54.16

- lumbosacral M54.17

- thoracic M54.14

Pain(s) (see also Painful) R52

- thoracic spine M54.6

- - with radicular and visceral pain M54.14

Radiculopathy M54.10

- cervical region M54.12

- cervicothoracic region M54.13

- due to

--disc disorder

---C3 M50.11

---C4 M50.11

---C5 M50.12

---C6 M50.12

---C7 M50.12

---C8 M50.13

--displacement of intervertebral disc —see Disorder, disc, with, radiculopathy

- leg M54.1-

- lumbar region M54.16

- lumbosacral region M54.17

- occipito-atlanto-axial region M54.11

- sacrococcygeal region M54.18

- thoracic region (with visceral pain) M54.14

- thoracolumbar region M54.15

Coder tips: You may have conditions that include radiculopathy. For instance, you won’t report M54.13 when you’re report any code from the M50.1 category (Cervical disc disorder with radiculopathy).

Underneath the M54.1 (Radiculopathy) category, you have an Excludes1 note that forbids you from reporting any of these conditions with any of the following codes:

• neuralgia and neuritis NOS (M79.2)

• radiculopathy with cervical disc disorder (M50.1)

• radiculopathy with lumbar and other intervertebral disc disorders (M51.1-)

• radiculopathy with spondylosis (M47.2-).