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Neurology & Pain Management Coding Alert

Reader Question:

Assign 'Other Unspecified' for Obstructive Apnea

Published on Thu Jan 01, 2004

Question: What is the appropriate ICD-9 code to describe obstructive sleep apnea for sleep testing?

Oregon Subscriber Answer: The best code choice is 780.57 (Other and unspecified sleep apnea) in the absence of a more definitive classification such as apnea with hypersomnia (780.53), hyposomnia (780.52) or insomnia (780.51). Consulting ICD-9's "Index to Diseases" does reveal a listing for obstructive apnea (770.82, Other apnea of newborn), but this applies only to newborns.
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