Pulmonology Coding Alert

Question: I received a pulmonology report that lists the diagnoses as eosinophilic asthma and acute exacerbation of moderate persistent asthma. I assigned J82.83 and J45.51, but the claim was denied.

How do I correct the claim?

Missouri Subscriber

Answer: You are correct to assign J82.83 (Eosinophilic asthma), but the moderate persistent asthma diagnosis should be reported with J45.41 (Moderate persistent asthma with (acute) exacerbation).

However, the code order should also be reversed. Code J82.83 features a note that instructs you to code the type of asthma the patient is experiencing first. In this case, the patient experienced an acute exacerbation of their moderate persistent asthma and the eosinophilic asthma. Therefore, you’ll list J45.41 as the primary diagnosis code and J82.83 as the secondary diagnosis code.

Condition breakdown: Eosinophilic asthma is an asthma type where the patient has a high level of white blood cells, also known as eosinophils, in their airways. High eosinophil levels can cause airway swelling, which causes asthma symptoms.