tci General Surgery Coding Alert - 2001 Issue 6

Reader Question: Rectal Bleeding Versus Blood in Stool

Question: What is the difference between ICD-9 codes 569.3 (hemorrhage of rectum and anus) and 578.1?Arizona SubscriberAnswer: The main difference between the two codes is the original source of the bleeding, says M. Trayser Dunaway, MD, a general surgeon in Camden, S.C. When a patient has blood in the stool, the source of the bleeding is usually somewhere upstream, in the gastrointestinal tract. When the source of the bleeding is the rectum or anus, the blood would not typically be inside the stool, but rather would visibly coat the outside. The difference between the two...

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