Otolaryngology Coding Alert

Question: What is organic sleep apnea? My physician has been using 780.57 to report sleep apnea, but ICD-9 revised 780.57 to say -unspecified- and added 327.23. Can you explain the difference to me?


Texas Subscriber

Answer: When your physician indicates -organic sleep apnea,- it means that he was able to identify a specific cause of the sleep apnea. For example, when the allergist determines that excessive weight pressing on the patient's ribs and lungs is causing the sleep apnea, you would report 327.23 (Obstructive sleep apnea [adult] [pediatric]).

You would report unspecified sleep apnea (780.57) if your physician is unable to identify the cause of the apnea or if he is still trying to determine the cause.

All the 780.5x codes are -unspecified,- meaning that you should use them when your physician doesn't give a specific cause for the condition. All the 327.2x codes, except 327.20 (Organic sleep apnea, unspecified), are -specified- causes of organic sleep apnea.

Generally speaking, you will use the -unspecified- diagnoses prior to a sleep study because the physician probably won't know the cause of the apnea. After the sleep study, you should be able to assign a more specific diagnosis.