E34.3 vs E45
E34.3 and E45 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 E34.3
nutritional short stature (E45)
E34.3
Short stature due to endocrine disorder
Not billable
- Chapter 4
- Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases
- Section
- E20-E35
E45
Retarded development following protein-calorie malnutrition
Billable
- Chapter 4
- Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases
- Section
- E40-E46
Use when the record says
- Nutritional short stature
- Nutritional stunting
- Physical retardation due to malnutrition
Indexed under
- Nutritional stunting
- Stunting, nutritional
- Dwarfism › nutritional
- Dystrophy, dystrophia › due to malnutrition
- Dystrophy, dystrophia › nutritional
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