Pathology/Lab Coding Alert
Don't Unbundle Alcian Blue/PAS
Question: What's the correct way to code an Alcian Blue/PAS stain to rule out Barrett's Esophagus? Tennessee Subscriber Answer: You should report the stain as 88313 (Special stain including interpretation and report; Group II, all other (eg, iron, trichrome), except stain for microorganisms, stains for enzyme constituents, or immunocytochemistry and immunohistochemistry). Pathologists use the Alcian Blue/PAS stain for the esophagus biopsy is to identify goblet cells, which are diagnostic for intestinal metaplasia, which supports the diagnosis of Barrett's esophagus. Despite the fact that Alcian Blue and Periodic Acid Schiff (PAS) can be separately reportable stains, you should only list one stain code in this case. That's because the procedure involves applying and interpreting the two compounds as a single stain.
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