N23 — Unspecified renal colic
Is N23 billable?
Yes, but N23 is an unspecified code. N23 is a valid, billable ICD-10-CM code for encounters from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. However, N23 is an unspecified or catch-all code. Payers apply additional scrutiny to unspecified codes and many deny them when the medical record supports a more specific option, so check the documentation before selecting N23.
N23 at a glance
| Code | N23 |
|---|---|
| Description | Unspecified renal colic |
| Billable | Yes |
| Code set | ICD-10-CM FY2027 |
| Valid for encounters | October 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027 |
Which MS-DRGs does N23 group to?
N23 sits in MDC 11 and helps define the logic of 2 MS-DRGs (version 44, FY2027). Which one a stay actually groups to also depends on procedures and secondary diagnoses.
- 693Urinary Stones with MCCmedical
- 694Urinary Stones without MCCmedical
How is N23 listed in the Alphabetic Index?
These are the routes through the Alphabetic Index that lead to N23. They show the wording a clinician may have documented, which often differs from the Tabular description.
- Nephralgia
- Ureteralgia
- Colic › kidney (bilious) (infantile) (intestinal) (recurrent) (spasmodic)
- Colic › nephritic (bilious) (infantile) (intestinal) (recurrent) (spasmodic)
- Colic › renal (bilious) (infantile) (intestinal) (recurrent) (spasmodic)
- Colic › ureter (bilious) (infantile) (intestinal) (recurrent) (spasmodic)
- Pain › kidney (s)
- Pain › ureter (s)
- Pain › urinary (s)
Excludes2 — not included here — inherited from Chapter 14
The conditions below are not part of N23, but a patient may have both at the same time. When documentation supports it, N23 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)
How long has N23 existed?
N23 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 N23?
ICD-10-CM declares these codes mutually exclusive with N23 — exactly one of each pair can be correct for a given encounter.