N18.5 — Chronic kidney disease, stage 5
Is N18.5 billable?
Yes — N18.5 is billable for FY2027. N18.5 is a valid, billable ICD-10-CM code at the highest level of specificity in its branch. N18.5 may be submitted for encounters from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.
N18.5 at a glance
| Code | N18.5 |
|---|---|
| Description | Chronic kidney disease, stage 5 |
| Billable | Yes |
| Code set | ICD-10-CM FY2027 |
| Valid for encounters | October 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027 |
Which MS-DRGs does N18.5 group to?
N18.5 sits in MDC Pre and helps define the logic of 1 MS-DRG (version 44, FY2027). Which one a stay actually groups to also depends on procedures and secondary diagnoses.
- 008Simultaneous Pancreas, Islet Cell and Kidney Transplantsurgical
As a secondary diagnosis, N18.5 is a complication or comorbidity (CC), which can move a stay into a higher-paying DRG.
How is N18.5 listed in the Alphabetic Index?
These are the routes through the Alphabetic Index that lead to N18.5. They show the wording a clinician may have documented, which often differs from the Tabular description.
- Disease, diseased › kidney › chronic › stage 5
Excludes1 — never code together
The conditions below can never be reported together with N18.5 on the same claim. An Excludes1 note means the two conditions cannot occur in the same patient, so reporting both is a coding error.
- chronic kidney disease, stage 5 requiring chronic dialysis (N18.6)
Code first — inherited from N18
The underlying condition below must be sequenced before N18.5. N18.5 describes a manifestation and cannot be the principal or first-listed diagnosis.
Use additional code — inherited from N18
Report an additional code alongside N18.5 to fully describe the condition. N18.5 is sequenced first.
Excludes2 — not included here — inherited from Chapter 14
The conditions below are not part of N18.5, but a patient may have both at the same time. When documentation supports it, N18.5 and the excluded code may both be reported.
- certain conditions originating in the perinatal period (P04-P96)
- certain infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99)
- complications of pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (O00-O9A)
- congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99)
- endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E88)
- injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00-T88)
- neoplasms (C00-D49)
- symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R94)
Excludes2 — not included here — inherited from N17-N19
The conditions below are not part of N18.5, but a patient may have both at the same time. When documentation supports it, N18.5 and the excluded code may both be reported.
- congenital renal failure (P96.0)
- drug- and heavy-metal-induced tubulo-interstitial and tubular conditions (N14.-)
- extrarenal uremia (R39.2)
- hemolytic-uremic syndrome (D59.3-)
- hepatorenal syndrome (K76.7)
- postpartum hepatorenal syndrome (O90.41)
- posttraumatic renal failure (T79.5)
- prerenal uremia (R39.2)
- renal failure complicating abortion or ectopic or molar pregnancy (O00-O07, O08.4)
- renal failure following labor and delivery (O90.41)
- renal failure postprocedural (N99.0)
How long has N18.5 existed?
N18.5 has been in ICD-10-CM since at least FY2016, the earliest fiscal year on record here.
Derived from the official order files for FY2016–FY2026. FY2017 and FY2020 publish no order file, so those years are not covered.
Which codes are confused with N18.5?
ICD-10-CM declares these codes mutually exclusive with N18.5 — exactly one of each pair can be correct for a given encounter.