FY2027
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Excludes1 pair

G25.5 vs I02.0

G25.5 and I02.0 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 G25.5
chorea NOS with heart involvement (I02.0)
G25.5

Other chorea

Billable
Chapter 6
Diseases of the nervous system
Section
G20-G26
Use when the record says
  • Chorea NOS
Indexed under
  • Chorea (chronic) (gravis) (posthemiplegic) (senile) (spasmodic)
  • Choreoathetosis (paroxysmal)
  • Hemiballism (us)
  • Hemichorea
  • Chorea › progressive
I02.0

Rheumatic chorea with heart involvement

Billable
Chapter 9
Diseases of the circulatory system
Section
I00-I02
Use when the record says
  • Chorea NOS with heart involvement
  • Rheumatic chorea with heart involvement of any type classifiable under I01.-
Indexed under
  • Chorea › with › heart involvement
  • Chorea › minor › with heart involvement
  • Chorea › rheumatic › with heart involvement
  • Pericarditis › acute › with chorea (acute) (rheumatic) (Sydenham's)
  • Pericarditis › rheumatic › with chorea (acute) (rheumatic) (Sydenham's)

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