FY2027
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Excludes1 pair

R63.4 vs R64

R63.4 and R64 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 R64
abnormal weight loss (R63.4)
R63.4

Abnormal weight loss

Billable
Chapter 18
Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified
Section
R50-R69
Indexed under
  • Loss › weight (abnormal) (cause unknown)
  • Weight › loss (abnormal) (cause unknown)
  • Abnormal, abnormality, abnormalities › loss of › weight
  • Excess, excessive, excessively › weight › loss
R64

Cachexia

Billable
Chapter 18
Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified
Section
R50-R69
Indexed under
  • Cachexia
  • Emaciation
  • Inanition
  • Cachexia › cancerous
  • Cachexia › malignant

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