ICD-9 Code 308.0

Predominant disturbance of emotions

Not Valid for Submission

308.0 is a legacy non-billable code used to specify a medical diagnosis of predominant disturbance of emotions. This code was replaced on September 30, 2015 by its ICD-10 equivalent.

ICD-9: 308.0
Short Description:Stress react, emotional
Long Description:Predominant disturbance of emotions

Convert 308.0 to ICD-10

The following crosswalk between ICD-9 to ICD-10 is based based on the General Equivalence Mappings (GEMS) information:

  • F43.0 - Acute stress reaction

Code Classification

  • Mental disorders (290–319)
    • Neurotic disorders, personality disorders, and other nonpsychotic mental disorders (300-316)
      • 308 Acute reaction to stress

Information for Medical Professionals

Index to Diseases and Injuries

References found for the code 308.0 in the Index of Diseases and Injuries:


Information for Patients


Stress

What is stress?

Stress is how your brain and body respond to a challenge or demand. When you are stressed, your body releases chemicals called hormones. The hormones make you alert and ready to act. They can raise your blood pressure, heart rate, and blood sugar levels. This response is sometimes called a "fight or flight" response.

Everyone gets stressed from time to time. There are different types of stress. It can be short-term or long-term. It can be caused by something that happens once or something that keeps happening.

Not all stress is bad. In fact, it can help you survive in a dangerous situation. For example, one kind of stress is the jolt you may feel when a car pulls out in front of you. This jolt of hormones helps you quickly hit the brakes to avoid an accident. A little short-term stress can sometimes be helpful. For example, the stress of having a deadline for school or your job may push you to get your work done on time. Once you finish it, that stress goes away.

But stress that lasts a long time can harm your health.

What causes long-term stress?

Long-term stress, or chronic stress, lasts for weeks, months, or longer. As you go about your life, your body is acting as if you're being threatened.

Causes of long-term stress include:

  • Routine stress from the demands of work, school, family needs, money problems, and other daily pressures that don't stop.
  • Stress from sudden, difficult changes in your life, such as divorce, illness, losing your job, or other unhappy life events that often have a long impact.
  • Traumatic stress, which may happen when you're in danger of serious harm or death. Examples include being in a bad accident, a war, a flood, earthquake, or other frightening event. This type of stress can cause a long-lasting problem called post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

How can long term-stress harm my health?

People respond to stress in different ways. If you're stressed for a long time you may notice that you are:

  • Getting sick more often than usual because stress weakens your body's ability to fight germs
  • Having stomach problems or trouble digesting food
  • Having trouble sleeping
  • Having headaches
  • Feeling sad, angry, or easily upset

When stress keeps going, your body acts as if you're always in danger. That's a lot of strain that may play a part in developing serious health problems, including:

  • Depression
  • Anxiety
  • Heart disease
  • High blood pressure
  • Diabetes (high blood sugar)

It's possible to get used to the symptoms of stress and not even realize there's a problem. So when there's a lot of stress in your life, it's important to pay attention to how it affects you so you can do something about it.

How can I manage long-term stress?

Simple things that improve your mental health may be helpful in managing long-term stress, such as:

  • Get regular exercise. A 30-minute daily walk can help you feel better and help keep your immune system strong, so you don't get sick.
  • Try relaxing activities. You could look for an app or wellness program that uses breathing, meditation, or muscle relaxation exercises.
  • Get enough sleep every night.
  • Avoid too much caffeine.
  • Decide what you need to do now and what can wait. And focus on what you got done each day, not on what you weren't able to do.
  • Ask your family or friends for support.

When should I ask my health care provider for help with stress?

Get help if you're having severe symptoms for 2 weeks or more, including:

  • Trouble sleeping
  • Changes in your eating that cause unwanted changes in your weight
  • Troubles getting out of bed because of your mood
  • Difficulty focusing your thoughts
  • Losing interest in things you usually enjoy
  • Not being able to do your usual daily activities

Always get help right away if stress is causing you to:

  • Have thoughts of harming yourself
  • Feel you can't cope
  • Use drugs or alcohol more often than usual

Your health care provider may refer you to a mental health professional such as a psychologist or social worker.

NIH: National Institute of Mental Health


[Read More]

ICD-9 Footnotes

General Equivalence Map Definitions
The ICD-9 and ICD-10 GEMs are used to facilitate linking between the diagnosis codes in ICD-9-CM and the new ICD-10-CM code set. The GEMs are the raw material from which providers, health information vendors and payers can derive specific applied mappings to meet their needs.

  • Approximate Flag - The approximate flag is on, indicating that the relationship between the code in the source system and the code in the target system is an approximate equivalent.
  • No Map Flag - The no map flag indicates that a code in the source system is not linked to any code in the target system.
  • Combination Flag - The combination flag indicates that more than one code in the target system is required to satisfy the full equivalent meaning of a code in the source system.

Index of Diseases and Injuries Definitions

  • And - The word "and" should be interpreted to mean either "and" or "or" when it appears in a title.
  • Code also note - A "code also" note instructs that two codes may be required to fully describe a condition, but this note does not provide sequencing direction.
  • Code first - Certain conditions have both an underlying etiology and multiple body system manifestations due to the underlying etiology. For such conditions, the ICD-10-CM has a coding convention that requires the underlying condition be sequenced first followed by the manifestation. Wherever such a combination exists, there is a "use additional code" note at the etiology code, and a "code first" note at the manifestation code. These instructional notes indicate the proper sequencing order of the codes, etiology followed by manifestation.
  • Type 1 Excludes Notes - A type 1 Excludes note is a pure excludes note. It means "NOT CODED HERE!" An Excludes1 note indicates that the code excluded should never be used at the same time as the code above the Excludes1 note. An Excludes1 is used when two conditions cannot occur together, such as a congenital form versus an acquired form of the same condition.
  • Type 2 Excludes Notes - A type 2 Excludes note represents "Not included here". An excludes2 note indicates that the condition excluded is not part of the condition represented by the code, but a patient may have both conditions at the same time. When an Excludes2 note appears under a code, it is acceptable to use both the code and the excluded code together, when appropriate.
  • Includes Notes - This note appears immediately under a three character code title to further define, or give examples of, the content of the category.
  • Inclusion terms - List of terms is included under some codes. 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.
  • NEC "Not elsewhere classifiable" - This abbreviation in the Alphabetic Index represents "other specified". When a specific code is not available for a condition, the Alphabetic Index directs the coder to the "other specified” code in the Tabular List.
  • NOS "Not otherwise specified" - This abbreviation is the equivalent of unspecified.
  • See - The "see" instruction following a main term in the Alphabetic Index indicates that another term should be referenced. It is necessary to go to the main term referenced with the "see" note to locate the correct code.
  • See Also - A "see also" instruction following a main term in the Alphabetic Index instructs that there is another main term that may also be referenced that may provide additional Alphabetic Index entries that may be useful. It is not necessary to follow the "see also" note when the original main term provides the necessary code.
  • 7th Characters - Certain ICD-10-CM categories have applicable 7th characters. The applicable 7th character is required for all codes within the category, or as the notes in the Tabular List instruct. The 7th character must always be the 7th character in the data field. If a code that requires a 7th character is not 6 characters, a placeholder X must be used to fill in the empty characters.
  • With - The word "with" should be interpreted to mean "associated with" or "due to" when it appears in a code title, the Alphabetic Index, or an instructional note in the Tabular List. The word "with" in the Alphabetic Index is sequenced immediately following the main term, not in alphabetical order.