Orthopedic Coding Alert

Question: What is Reiter’s disease, and how do I choose an ICD-10 code for the condition?

Minnesota Subscriber

Answer: Reiter’s disease is also referred to as reactive arthritis. It is an autoimmune condition that often pops up in response to an infection. Symptoms of Reiter’s disease include arthritis, urethritis, and conjunctivitis. Patients suffering from this disease may also have enthesitis, skin rashes, or lesions on their mucous membranes.

Coding: You’ll start with the anatomical location of the Reiter’s disease in order to choose the best ICD-10 code. These locations are represented by the 5^th character in the ICD-10 codes. But be careful: some of these ICD-10 codes only go to the 5^th character, while others extend into the 6^th. Here’s a look at how each code looks at the 5^th character:

• M02.30 (Reiter’s disease, unspecified site)
• M02.31- (Reiter’s disease, shoulder)
• M02.32- (Reiter’s disease, elbow)
• M02.33- (Reiter’s disease, wrist)
• M02.34- (Reiter’s disease, hand)
• M02.35- (Reiter’s disease, hip)
• M02.36- (Reiter’s disease, knee)
• M02.37- (Reiter’s disease, ankle and foot)
• M02.38 (Reiter’s disease, vertebrae)
• M02.39 (Reiter’s disease, multiple sites)

1 more step: If the patient has Reiter’s disease that is unspecified, vertebral, or in multiple sites, your choice is complete. If, however, the anatomical location falls into any of the other categories, you’ll need to go to the 6^th character to indicate laterality.

The 6^th characters you’ll choose from are 1 for right-sided Reiter’s disease, 2 for left-sided, and 9 for unspecified.

Chris Boucher, MS, CPC, Senior Development Editor, AAPC