R26.0 vs R27
R26.0 and R27 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 R27
ataxic gait (R26.0)
R26.0
Ataxic gait
Billable
- Chapter 18
- Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified
- Section
- R25-R29
Use when the record says
- Staggering gait
Indexed under
- Staggering gait
- Ataxia, ataxy, ataxic › gait
- Gait abnormality › ataxic
- Gait abnormality › staggering
R27
Other lack of coordination
Not billable
- Chapter 18
- Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified
- Section
- R25-R29
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