Excludes1 pair

E71.5- vs G37.0

E71.5 and G37.0 are not coded together. ICD-10-CM declares them mutually exclusive with an Excludes1 note — the two conditions are not expected to occur together, so exactly one of them is normally correct for a given encounter. The Official Guidelines carve out one exception: if the two conditions are clearly unrelated to each other, both may be reported.

The official note, declared on E71.5
Schilder's disease (G37.0)
E71.5

Peroxisomal disorders

Not billable
Chapter 4
Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases
Section
E70-E88
Indexed under
  • Aciduria › glutaric › type III
G37.0

Diffuse sclerosis of central nervous system

Billable
Chapter 6
Diseases of the nervous system
Section
G35-G37
Use when the record says
  • Periaxial encephalitis
  • Schilder's disease
Indexed under
  • Flatau-Schilder disease
  • Schilder disease (-Flatau)
  • Encephalitis › periaxial
  • Encephalopathy › centrolobar progressive (Schilder)
  • Sclerosis, sclerotic › diffuse (brain) (spinal cord)

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