2024 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code R56.9

Unspecified convulsions

ICD-10-CM Code:
R56.9
ICD-10 Code for:
Unspecified convulsions
Is Billable?
Yes - Valid for Submission
Chronic Condition Indicator: [1]
Not chronic
Code Navigator:

Code Classification

  • Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified
    (R00–R99)
    • General symptoms and signs
      (R50-R69)
      • Convulsions, not elsewhere classified
        (R56)

R56.9 is a billable diagnosis code used to specify a medical diagnosis of unspecified convulsions. The code is valid during the current fiscal year for the submission of HIPAA-covered transactions from October 01, 2023 through September 30, 2024.

Unspecified diagnosis codes like R56.9 are acceptable when clinical information is unknown or not available about a particular condition. Although a more specific code is preferable, unspecified codes should be used when such codes most accurately reflect what is known about a patient's condition. Specific diagnosis codes should not be used if not supported by the patient's medical record.

According to ICD-10-CM guidelines this code should not to be used as a principal diagnosis code when a related definitive diagnosis has been established.

Approximate Synonyms

The following clinical terms are approximate synonyms or lay terms that might be used to identify the correct diagnosis code:

  • 1 to 12 seizures a year
  • 1 to 7 seizures a week
  • 2 to 4 seizures a month
  • Acute repetitive seizure
  • Acute seizure due to infection of central nervous system
  • Afebrile seizure
  • Central convulsion
  • Childhood obesity
  • Cortical blindness
  • Daily seizures
  • Disorder of lysine and hydroxylysine metabolism
  • Early-onset seizures, distal limb anomalies, facial dysmorphism, global developmental delay syndrome
  • EEG abnormality with seizure
  • Emergency epilepsy treatment since last appointment
  • Epileptic cry
  • Fall due to seizure
  • Familial psoriasis
  • Folinic acid responsive seizure syndrome
  • Global developmental delay, neuro-ophthalmological abnormalities, seizures, intellectual disability syndrome
  • Hereditary cerebellar atrophy
  • Hypoglycemia-induced convulsion
  • Intellectual disability, seizures, abnormal gait, facial dysmorphism syndrome
  • Intellectual disability, seizures, hypotonia, ophthalmologic, skeletal anomalies syndrome
  • Intellectual disability, seizures, macrocephaly, obesity syndrome
  • Left ventricular myocardial noncompaction cardiomyopathy
  • Lethal left ventricular non-compaction, seizures, hypotonia, cataract, developmental delay syndrome
  • Lowered convulsive threshold
  • Many seizures a day
  • Microcephaly, seizure, intellectual disability, heart disease syndrome
  • Neurodevelopmental delay, seizures, ophthalmic anomalies, osteopenia, cerebellar atrophy syndrome
  • Osteogenesis imperfecta, retinopathy, seizures, intellectual disability syndrome
  • Perceptual disturbance due to alcohol withdrawal
  • Perceptual disturbances and seizures co-occurrent and due to alcohol withdrawal
  • Perceptual disturbances and seizures co-occurrent and due to hypnotic withdrawal
  • Perceptual disturbances and seizures co-occurrent and due to psychoactive substance withdrawal
  • Perceptual disturbances and seizures co-occurrent and due to psychoactive substance withdrawal
  • Perceptual disturbances and seizures co-occurrent and due to psychoactive substance withdrawal
  • Perceptual disturbances and seizures co-occurrent and due to psychoactive substance withdrawal
  • Perceptual disturbances and seizures co-occurrent and due to sedative withdrawal
  • Perceptual disturbances co-occurrent and due to hypnotic withdrawal
  • Perceptual disturbances co-occurrent and due to psychoactive substance withdrawal
  • Perceptual disturbances co-occurrent and due to psychoactive substance withdrawal
  • Perceptual disturbances co-occurrent and due to psychoactive substance withdrawal
  • Perceptual disturbances co-occurrent and due to psychoactive substance withdrawal
  • Perceptual disturbances co-occurrent and due to sedative withdrawal
  • Post-ictal state
  • Post-ictal state
  • Postseizure headache
  • Posttraumatic seizure
  • Primary hyperaldosteronism, seizures, neurological abnormalities syndrome
  • Progressive microcephaly, seizures, cortical blindness, developmental delay syndrome
  • Raised convulsive threshold
  • Recurrent seizure
  • Seizure
  • Seizure co-occurrent and due to hypnotic withdrawal
  • Seizure co-occurrent and due to psychoactive substance withdrawal
  • Seizure co-occurrent and due to psychoactive substance withdrawal
  • Seizure co-occurrent and due to psychoactive substance withdrawal
  • Seizure co-occurrent and due to psychoactive substance withdrawal
  • Seizure co-occurrent and due to psychoactive substance withdrawal
  • Seizure co-occurrent and due to psychoactive substance withdrawal
  • Seizure co-occurrent and due to sedative withdrawal
  • Seizure co-occurrent and due to sedative withdrawal
  • Seizure co-occurrent and due to substance withdrawal
  • Seizure co-occurrent and due to substance withdrawal
  • Seizure co-occurrent and due to substance withdrawal
  • Seizure co-occurrent and due to substance withdrawal
  • Seizure co-occurrent and due to substance withdrawal
  • Seizure co-occurrent and due to substance withdrawal
  • Seizure co-occurrent and due to substance withdrawal
  • Seizure disorder
  • Seizure disorder as sequela of stroke
  • Seizures and intellectual disability due to hydroxylysinuria
  • Seizures complicating infection
  • Seizures complicating infection
  • Single seizure
  • Single seizure
  • Single seizure due to remote cause
  • Single unprovoked seizure
  • Situation-related seizures
  • Situation-related seizures
  • Situation-related seizures
  • Tetanic convulsion
  • Uremic convulsion
  • Ventricular myocardial noncompaction cardiomyopathy
  • X-linked intellectual disability with seizure and psoriasis syndrome

Clinical Classification

Clinical Information

  • Cortical Blindness

    visual impairment due to visual cortex dysfunction.

Tabular List of Diseases and Injuries

The following annotation back-references are applicable to this diagnosis code. The Tabular List of Diseases and Injuries is a list of ICD-10-CM codes, organized "head to toe" into chapters and sections with coding notes and guidance for inclusions, exclusions, descriptions and more.


Inclusion Terms

Inclusion Terms
These terms are the conditions for which that code is to be used. The terms may be synonyms of the code title, or, in the case of "other specified" codes, the terms are a list of the various conditions assigned to that code. The inclusion terms are not necessarily exhaustive. Additional terms found only in the Alphabetic Index may also be assigned to a code.
  • Convulsion disorder
  • Fit NOS
  • Recurrent convulsions
  • Seizure(s) (convulsive) NOS

Index to Diseases and Injuries References

The following annotation back-references for this diagnosis code are found in the injuries and diseases index. The Index to Diseases and Injuries is an alphabetical listing of medical terms, with each term mapped to one or more ICD-10-CM code(s).

Convert R56.9 to ICD-9-CM

  • ICD-9-CM Code: 780.39 - Convulsions NEC
    Approximate Flag - The approximate mapping means there is not an exact match between the ICD-10 and ICD-9 codes and the mapped code is not a precise representation of the original code.

Patient Education


Seizures

Seizures are symptoms of a brain problem. They happen because of sudden, abnormal electrical activity in the brain. When people think of seizures, they often think of convulsions in which a person's body shakes rapidly and uncontrollably. Not all seizures cause convulsions. There are many types of seizures and some have mild symptoms. Seizures fall into two main groups. Focal seizures, also called partial seizures, happen in just one part of the brain. Generalized seizures are a result of abnormal activity on both sides of the brain.

Most seizures last from 30 seconds to 2 minutes and do not cause lasting harm. However, it is a medical emergency if seizures last longer than 5 minutes or if a person has many seizures and does not wake up between them. Seizures can have many causes, including medicines, high fevers, head injuries and certain diseases. People who have recurring seizures due to a brain disorder have epilepsy.

NIH: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke


[Learn More in MedlinePlus]

Code History

  • FY 2024 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2023 through 9/30/2024
  • FY 2023 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2022 through 9/30/2023
  • FY 2022 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2021 through 9/30/2022
  • FY 2021 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2020 through 9/30/2021
  • FY 2020 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2019 through 9/30/2020
  • FY 2019 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2018 through 9/30/2019
  • FY 2018 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2017 through 9/30/2018
  • FY 2017 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2016 through 9/30/2017
  • FY 2016 - New Code, effective from 10/1/2015 through 9/30/2016. This was the first year ICD-10-CM was implemented into the HIPAA code set.

Footnotes

[1] Not chronic - A diagnosis code that does not fit the criteria for chronic condition (duration, ongoing medical treatment, and limitations) is considered not chronic. Some codes designated as not chronic are acute conditions. Other diagnosis codes that indicate a possible chronic condition, but for which the duration of the illness is not specified in the code description (i.e., we do not know the condition has lasted 12 months or longer) also are considered not chronic.