Pediatric Coding Alert

Question: Our provider recently diagnosed a patient with wheezing associated respiratory infection (WARI), but I can't find a code for that in ICD-10. Can I just use the code for wheezing instead?

Maine Subscriber

Answer: When you look up the term "wheezing" in the ICD-10 index, you are directed to R06.2 (Wheezing). However, as with all signs and symptoms codes, you would only report this if your pediatrician does not provide a more definitive diagnosis.

WARI, though, is a definitive diagnosis of a condition where recurrent bouts of wheezing are brought on by viral infections such as a cold (as opposed to, say, asthma, which has multiple triggers such as exercise, allergies, or other kinds of infections). As a definitive diagnosis, then, you cannot report it with a sign and symptom code, so you need to look to the respiratory codes for your answer.

Here, the most appropriate code for you to use would be J98.01 (Acute bronchospasm), as this describes the patient's asthma-like condition but rules out asthma or other similar conditions because the J98 codes describe bronchial conditions not classified elsewhere in ICD-10.

However, as always, you should check with your provider to make sure you fully understand what he or she means by WARI in this instance before coding J98.01.