Urology Coding Alert

Reader Questions:

Define Whitmore Cocktail to Find the Code

Question:  What code should I report when the urologist administers a “Whitmore cocktail”?

Virginia Subscriber

Answer:  You should report 51700 (Bladder irrigation, simple, lavage and/or instillation) for a Whitmore cocktail administration. This bladder instillation consists of several non-chemotherapeutic drugs to locally treat patients with interstitial cystitis. 

Note: Chemotherapeutic agent instillations, such as Bacille Calmette-Guerin (BCG) and Mutamycin, would mandate code 51720 (Bladder instillation of anticarcinogenic agent [including retention time]).


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