Question

A certain patient often comes to your office for cancer treatment. When this patient comes in with a sore throat caused by the flu, what is the primary diagnosis according to the ICD-9-CM?

A) 140.0
B) V10.89
C) 487.1
D) 780.6

Answer 1

The primary diagnosis according to the ICD-9-CM for a patient with a sore throat caused by the flu is 487.1, which represents influenza with respiratory manifestations.

Step-by-step explanation:

The primary diagnosis for a patient coming into your office for cancer treatment but presenting with a sore throat caused by the flu would be 487.1 according to the ICD-9-CM. This code represents influenza with respiratory manifestations, which includes symptoms such as cough and sore throat. The patient's history of cancer is important, but since the current complaint and clinical presentation are consistent with the flu, the primary diagnosis relates directly to the presenting symptoms rather than the history of cancer.

It is critical to properly code the diagnosis for both clinical documentation and insurance purposes. In this case, 487.1 captures the flu symptoms rather than codes like 140.0 (malignant neoplasm of the lip), V10.89 (personal history of malignant neoplasm of other sites), or 780.6 (fever), which do not accurately reflect the current clinical scenario.

This code corresponds to the specific diagnosis of influenza with respiratory manifestations. It is important to note that the ICD-9-CM is an older coding system and has been replaced by the ICD-10-CM, which provides more detailed and specific codes for diagnoses.