FY2027
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Excludes1 pair

I73.8- vs R20.2

I73.8 and R20.2 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 R20.2
acroparesthesia (I73.8)
I73.8

Other specified peripheral vascular diseases

Not billable
Chapter 9
Diseases of the circulatory system
Section
I70-I79
R20.2

Paresthesia of skin

Billable
Chapter 18
Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified
Section
R20-R23
Use when the record says
  • Formication
  • Pins and needles
  • Tingling skin
Indexed under
  • Formication
  • Hemiparesthesia
  • Paresthesia
  • Pins and needles
  • Prickling sensation (skin)

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