N05 vs N28.9
N05 and N28.9 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.
The official note, declared on N05
nephropathy NOS with no stated morphological lesion (N28.9)
N05
Unspecified nephritic syndrome
Not billable
- Chapter 14
- Diseases of the genitourinary system
- Section
- N00-N08
Use when the record says
- glomerular disease NOS
- glomerulonephritis NOS
- nephritis NOS
- nephropathy NOS and renal disease NOS with morphological lesion specified in .0-.8
N28.9
Disorder of kidney and ureter, unspecified
BillableUnspecified
- Chapter 14
- Diseases of the genitourinary system
- Section
- N25-N29
Use when the record says
- Nephropathy NOS
- Renal disease (acute) NOS
- Renal insufficiency (acute)
Indexed under
- Inefficiency, kidney
- Nephropathy
- Shutdown, renal
- Block, blocked › kidney
- Cachexia › renal
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