Pulmonology Coding Alert

Question: What is adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)? How should we code it?Alaska SubscriberAnswer: Adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is not a specific disease, rather a lung dysfunction associated with several diseases and medical conditions (i.e., pneumonia, shock, sepsis, drug overdose and trauma). Patients with ARDS exhibit symptoms that include breathlessness (786.05, Shortness of breath) and respiratory failure (518.81, Acute respiratory failure), pneumonia (486) or sepsis (038.9, Unspecified septicemia). ARDS is associated with severe and diffuse injury to the alveolar-capillary membrane (the air sacs and small blood vessels) of the lungs. When under attack during an inciting event, some alveoli of the patient's lung accumulate fluids, while some collapse. This alveolar damage hinders the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide, which leads to a reduced concentration of oxygen in the blood. In turn, low levels of oxygen in the blood can cause damage to the patient's vital organs.A pulmonologist will [...]