L67 vs Q84.1
L67 and Q84.1 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.
Hair color and hair shaft abnormalities
- Chapter 12
- Diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue
- Section
- L60-L75
Congenital morphological disturbances of hair, not elsewhere classified
- Chapter 17
- Congenital malformations, deformations, chromosomal abnormalities, and genetic disorders
- Section
- Q80-Q89
- Beaded hair
- Monilethrix
- Pili annulati
- Beaded hair (congenital)
- Monilethrix (congenital)
- Ringed hair (congenital)
- Thrix annulata (congenital)
- Trichostasis spinulosa (congenital)
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