A06.4 vs K75.0
A06.4 and K75.0 can never be reported together. ICD-10-CM declares them mutually exclusive with an Excludes1 note, meaning the two conditions cannot occur in the same patient — so exactly one of them is correct for any given encounter.
The official note, declared on K75.0
amebic liver abscess (A06.4)
A06.4
Amebic liver abscess
Billable
- Chapter 1
- Certain infectious and parasitic diseases
- Section
- A00-A09
Use when the record says
- Hepatic amebiasis
Indexed under
- Abscess › amebic (connective tissue) (embolic) (fistulous) (infective) (metastatic) (multiple) (pernicious) (pyogenic) (septic)
- Ameba, amebic › abscess (histolytica)
- Dysentery, dysenteric › abscess, liver (catarrhal) (diarrhea) (epidemic) (hemorrhagic) (infectious) (sporadic) (tropical)
- Abscess › amebic › liver (connective tissue) (embolic) (fistulous) (infective) (metastatic) (multiple) (pernicious) (pyogenic) (septic)
- Abscess › hepatic › amebic (connective tissue) (embolic) (fistulous) (infective) (metastatic) (multiple) (pernicious) (pyogenic) (septic)
K75.0
Abscess of liver
Billable
- Chapter 11
- Diseases of the digestive system
- Section
- K70-K77
Use when the record says
- Cholangitic hepatic abscess
- Hematogenic hepatic abscess
- Hepatic abscess NOS
- Lymphogenic hepatic abscess
- Pylephlebitic hepatic abscess
Indexed under
- Abscess › hepatic (connective tissue) (embolic) (fistulous) (infective) (metastatic) (multiple) (pernicious) (pyogenic) (septic)
- Abscess › liver (connective tissue) (embolic) (fistulous) (infective) (metastatic) (multiple) (pernicious) (pyogenic) (septic)
- Inflammation, inflamed, inflammatory › liver › suppurative (with exudation)
These two codes sit in different chapters of the Tabular List, which is usually the clearest signal that they describe different underlying processes rather than different degrees of the same one.
Excludes1 is not always absolute: where two conditions covered by the note are genuinely unrelated, CMS guidance permits reporting both. Document the reasoning rather than assuming it. More on Excludes1 vs Excludes2 · FY2027