Ideal ICD-10 Coding for Warts

Warts are a form of lesion. They are small, usually painless growths on the skin, and are usualy harmless. Most warts are caused by a viral infection; specifically by one of the many types of human papillomavirus (HPV). Wart viruses are contagious. Warts can spread by contact with the wart or something that touched the wart. Some warts are bacterial, rather than viral.

Warts can occur at any age, but are most common in children, young adults, and people with immune system deficiencies. Clinical categories of warts include:

Common warts (Verruca vulgaris): A raised wart with roughened surface, most common on hands, but can grow anywhere on the body.

Plantar warts (Verruca plantaris): A hard, sometimes painful lump, often with multiple black specks in the center; usually only found on pressure points on the soles of the feet.

Flat warts (Verruca plana): A small, smooth flattened wart, flesh-colored, which can occur in large numbers; most common on the face, neck, hands, wrists and knees. Commonly seen in teenagers.

Venereal warts (Condyloma acuminatum, Verruca acuminata): A wart that occurs on the genitalia.

Tuberculosis warts (Lupus verrucosus, Prosector’s wart, Warty tuberculosis): A rash of small, red papular nodules in the skin that may appear 2-4 weeks after inoculation by Mycobacterium tuberculosis in a previously infected and immunocompetent individual

Code categories include:

B07.0

• Plantar wart
• Verruca plantaris

B07.8

• Other viral warts
• Common wart
• Flat wart
• Verruca plana

B07.9

• Viral wart, unspecified

A63.0

• Anogenital (venereal) warts

A18.4

• Tuberculosis of skin and subcutaneous tissue

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John Verhovshek

John Verhovshek, MA, CPC, is a contributing editor at AAPC. He has been covering medical coding and billing, healthcare policy, and the business of medicine since 1999. He is an alumnus of York College of Pennsylvania and Clemson University.

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