Primary Care Coding Alert

Question: I can't find the ICD-9 code for Ramsay Hunt syndrome? Is there an ICD-9 diagnosis for this?

Kentucky Subscriber

Answer: "Ramsay Hunt" is listed under "Syndrome" in the ICD-CM index. It directs you to one of two diagnoses: 334.2 (Primary cerebellar degeneration) or 053.11 (Geniculate herpes zoster). Knowing the cause, location, and manifestations of this disease will help you arrive at the correct primary diagnosis.

Ramsay Hunt Syndrome is also known as herpes zoster oticus, geniculate neuralgia, or nervus intermedius neuralgia. This is a disease caused by infection of the geniculate ganglion of the facial nerves, resulting in facial paralysis. It is very similar to Bell's palsy, and often it is wrongly diagnosed as such. The ICD-9 code for this disease is 053.11.