acute exacerbation of chronic pancreatitis

[rhblevins61@yahoo.com]

Which dx code would be correct for acute exacerbation of chronic pancreatitis? 577.0 or 577.1?

Thanks for any help.

[mrolan@elmore.rr.com]

577.1 because it is chronic pancreatitis that is relapsing

[vj_tiwari]

Hey

As per ICD 9 CM guidelines,

If the same condition is described as both acute (subacute) and chronic and separate subentries exist in the Alphabetic Index at the same indentation level, code both and sequence the acute (subacute) code first.

So I think we need to report both the codes i.e. 577.0 & 577.1.

Hope this helps!!!

VJ.