E79.0 vs R79
E79.0 and R79 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.
Hyperuricemia without signs of inflammatory arthritis and tophaceous disease
- Chapter 4
- Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases
- Section
- E70-E88
- Asymptomatic hyperuricemia
- Hyperuricemia (asymptomatic)
- Lithemia
- Uric acid in blood (increased)
- Uricacidemia (asymptomatic)
- Uricemia (asymptomatic)
Other abnormal findings of blood chemistry
- Chapter 18
- Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified
- Section
- R70-R79
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