Excludes1 pair
K72- vs K75.3
K72 and K75.3 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 K75.3
acute or subacute hepatitis (K72.0-)
K72
Hepatic failure, not elsewhere classified
Not billable
- Chapter 11
- Diseases of the digestive system
- Section
- K70-K77
Use when the record says
- fulminant hepatitis NEC, with hepatic failure
- liver (cell) necrosis with hepatic failure
- malignant hepatitis NEC, with hepatic failure
- yellow liver atrophy or dystrophy
K75.3
Granulomatous hepatitis, not elsewhere classified
BillableUnspecified
- Chapter 11
- Diseases of the digestive system
- Section
- K70-K77
Indexed under
- Granuloma › hepatic NEC
- Hepatitis › granulomatous NEC
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