Excludes1 pair
N00- vs N10
N00 and N10 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 N00
acute tubulo-interstitial nephritis (N10)
N00
Acute nephritic syndrome
Not billable
- Chapter 14
- Diseases of the genitourinary system
- Section
- N00-N08
Use when the record says
- acute glomerular disease
- acute glomerulonephritis
- acute nephritis
N10
Acute pyelonephritis
Billable
- Chapter 14
- Diseases of the genitourinary system
- Section
- N10-N16
Use when the record says
- Acute infectious interstitial nephritis
- Acute pyelitis
- Acute tubulo-interstitial nephritis
- Hemoglobin nephrosis
- Myoglobin nephrosis
Indexed under
- Nephrosis, nephrotic › hemoglobin
- Nephrosis, nephrotic › myoglobin
- Pyelitis › acute
- Pyelonephritis › acute
- Nephritis, nephritic › tubulo-interstitial › acute (infectious)
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