Some confusion on this:
Patient admitted through the ER in sickle cell pain crisis. In the notes the doc noted GERD, hemorrhoids, asthma and priapism. The priapism is a symptom of sickle cell crisis, so my first inclination was not to code it, but I'm told that's incorrect, and it should be coded.
Now, I thought symptoms were only coded in this situation when the patient mentions them as a primary complaint. (Here the primary complaint was severe lower back pain.) Another example: pleural effusion is not coded when CHF is present on admission.
Can anybody clarify this for me? Where would I find documentation on the fact that pleural effusion is a symptom of CHF and shouldn't be coded?
Thanks for any help you might be able to provide.
Patient admitted through the ER in sickle cell pain crisis. In the notes the doc noted GERD, hemorrhoids, asthma and priapism. The priapism is a symptom of sickle cell crisis, so my first inclination was not to code it, but I'm told that's incorrect, and it should be coded.
Now, I thought symptoms were only coded in this situation when the patient mentions them as a primary complaint. (Here the primary complaint was severe lower back pain.) Another example: pleural effusion is not coded when CHF is present on admission.
Can anybody clarify this for me? Where would I find documentation on the fact that pleural effusion is a symptom of CHF and shouldn't be coded?
Thanks for any help you might be able to provide.
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