K91.2 vs M81.8
K91.2 and M81.8 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.
Postsurgical malabsorption, not elsewhere classified
- Chapter 11
- Diseases of the digestive system
- Section
- K90-K95
- Postsurgical blind loop syndrome
- Tachyalimentation
- Malabsorption › postgastrectomy
- Malabsorption › postsurgical
- Malnutrition › following gastrointestinal surgery
- Complication › surgical procedure › malabsorption NEC (postsurgical)
Other osteoporosis without current pathological fracture
- Chapter 13
- Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue
- Section
- M80-M85
- Drug-induced osteoporosis without current pathological fracture
- Idiopathic osteoporosis without current pathological fracture
- Osteoporosis of disuse without current pathological fracture
- Postoophorectomy osteoporosis without current pathological fracture
- Postsurgical malabsorption osteoporosis without current pathological fracture
- Post-traumatic osteoporosis without current pathological fracture
- Osteoporosis › disuse
- Osteoporosis › specified type NEC
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