AHA Coding Clinic® for ICD-10-CM and ICD-10-PCS - 2025 Quarter 4; New/Revised ICD-10-CM Codes
Abdominal and Pelvic Pain
A patient presented to the emergency department (ED) with bilateral flank pain and lower abdominal pain of the left quadrant. The patient was evaluated for the pain, but all labs and CT results were negative. The patient was discharged home from the ED with instructions to follow-up with their primary care provider. Since flank pain is not in a specified abdominal quadrant, how is the bilateral flank pain reported? ...
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Article Overview
This article covers recent ICD-10-CM changes affecting abdominal, pelvic, perineal, suprapubic, flank, and multi-site abdominal pain. It is aimed at coding professionals and clinical documentation staff who need to understand the scope of the revised category structure and related guidance for reporting pain diagnoses.
Why This Topic Matters
Accurate pain diagnosis reporting depends on understanding how new and expanded ICD-10-CM categories separate more specific pain locations. The article helps readers recognize what changed and where related documentation guidance applies.
Article Sections
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ICD-10-CM category R10 updates
Introduces changes to the abdominal and pelvic pain category and explains the purpose of the updates at a high level.
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Expanded pelvic and perineal pain subcategory
Summarizes the expansion of the pelvic and perineal pain subcategory into more specific laterality-based options and suprapubic pain.
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New flank pain subcategory
Describes the addition of a dedicated flank pain subcategory with laterality-specific options.
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Abdominal pain of multiple sites
Notes the creation of a category for pain involving multiple abdominal sites.
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Emergency department coding example
Presents a short coding scenario involving flank and abdominal pain and references accompanying documentation guidance.
What You Will Learn
- How recent ICD-10-CM changes affect abdominal and pelvic pain reporting
- Which broad pain categories were expanded or newly created
- How laterality and anatomic location are being organized in the updated structure
- What type of documentation scenario is used to illustrate the revised pain categories
Who Should Read This
- Medical coders
- Coding auditors
- Clinical documentation improvement staff
- Emergency department coding staff
- Billing and compliance teams
Codes Discussed
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