Question

In looking at the notes with this code, which statement is TRUE?

K67 Disorders of the peritoneum in infectious diseases classified elsewhere
Code first underlying disease, such as:
congenital syphilis (A50.0)
helminthiasis (B65.0-B83.9)
Excludes1: peritonitis in chlamydia (A74.81)
peritonitis in diphtheria (A36.89)peritonitis in gonococcal (A54.85)peritonitis in syphilis (late) (A52.74)
peritonitis in tuberculosis (A18.31)
1) Code K67 may be a first-listed code
2) Code K67 may be coded with code A36.89
3) Code K67 may never be coded with codes listed under Excludes1
4) Code K67 is a secondary code with codes from Excludes1 being coded first

Answer 1

Code K67 is a secondary code to be used after coding for the underlying disease, per the Excludes1 note which prevents its use with certain specified conditions like peritonitis in tuberculosis or syphilis.

Step-by-step explanation:

In looking at the notes with the code K67 Disorders of the peritoneum in infectious diseases classified elsewhere, the correct statement is that Code K67 is a secondary code with codes from Excludes1 being coded first. This is because the instructions clearly state to code first the underlying disease such as congenital syphilis, helminthiasis, etc. The note also includes Excludes1 conditions, which indicates that you cannot code K67 with conditions like peritonitis in tuberculosis (A18.31), chlamydia (A74.81), or syphilis (late) (A52.74). Therefore, option 4 is the correct statement as it states that code K67 should not be the first-listed code, instead, the underlying disease should be coded first, followed by the K67 code if applicable.