Primary Care Coding Alert

Question: I'm not sure when I should use 569.3 and 578.1 for bloody stool. Are they one and the same?

Nevada Subscriber

Answer: No. Your physician's documentation should indicate the source of the bleeding to allow you to choose the appropriate ICD-9 code.

Blood in the stool usually originates from somewhere in the upper areas of the gastrointestinal tract. In this case, you would use 578.1 (Gastrointestinal hemorrhage; blood in stool). On the other hand, traces of bright red blood on the outside of the stool or on the toilet tissue usually occur from a source within the rectum or anus (569.3, Other disorders of intestine; hemorrhage of rectum and anus).