ICD-9 Code 765.15

Other preterm infants, 1,250-1,499 grams

Not Valid for Submission

765.15 is a legacy non-billable code used to specify a medical diagnosis of other preterm infants, 1,250-1,499 grams. This code was replaced on September 30, 2015 by its ICD-10 equivalent.

ICD-9: 765.15
Short Description:Preterm NEC 1250-1499g
Long Description:Other preterm infants, 1,250-1,499 grams

Convert 765.15 to ICD-10

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

  • P07.15 - Other low birth weight newborn, 1250-1499 grams

Code Classification

  • Certain conditions originating in the perinatal period (760–779)
    • Other conditions originating in the perinatal period (764-779)
      • 765 Disorders relating to short gestation and unspecified low birthweight

Information for Medical Professionals

Code Edits

The Medicare Code Editor (MCE) detects and reports errors in the coding of claims data. The following ICD-9 Code Edits are applicable to this code:

Information for Patients


Birth Weight

Birth weight is the first weight of your baby, taken just after he or she is born. A low birth weight is less than 5.5 pounds. A high birth weight is more than 8.8 pounds.

A low birth weight baby can be born too small, too early (premature), or both. This can happen for many different reasons. They include health problems in the mother, genetic factors, problems with the placenta, and drug use by the mother.

Some low birth weight babies may be more at risk for certain health problems. Some may become sick in the first days of life or develop infections. Others may suffer from longer-term problems such as delayed motor and social development or learning disabilities.

High birth weight babies are often big because the parents are big, or the mother has diabetes during pregnancy. These babies may be at a higher risk of birth injuries and problems with blood sugar.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


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Premature Babies

Almost 1 of every 10 infants born in the United States are premature, or preemies. A premature birth is when a baby is born before 37 completed weeks of pregnancy. A full-term pregnancy is 40 weeks.

Important growth and development happen throughout pregnancy - especially in the final months and weeks. Because they are born too early, preemies weigh much less than full-term babies. They may have health problems because their organs did not have enough time to develop. Problems that a baby born too early may have include:

  • Breathing problems
  • Feeding difficulties
  • Cerebral palsy
  • Developmental delay
  • Vision problems
  • Hearing problems

Preemies need special medical care in a neonatal intensive care unit, or NICU. They stay there until their organ systems can work on their own.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


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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.