2027 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code H53.9Unspecified visual disturbance
ICD-10-CM Codes›H00–H59›H53-H54›H53
- Billable — Valid for Submission
- Not Chronic
H53.9 is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for unspecified visual disturbance. It is valid on HIPAA claims for fiscal year 2027 (October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027) and groups to MS-DRG 124 through 125. In AHRQ's Clinical Classifications Software (CCSR), this diagnosis falls under Blindness and vision defects.
Code Identity
Code Classification
Approximate SynonymsGuidance
Alternate terms and clinical phrases that map to this code.
- Abnormal vision as a late effect of cerebrovascular disease
- Abnormal vision due to superficial infantile hemangioma of periorbital region
- CHD3-related developmental delay, speech delay, intellectual disability, abnormalities of vision, facial dysmorphism syndrome
- Congenital corneal opacity interfering with vision
- Congenital corneal opacity with visual deficit
- Deafness-dystonia-optic neuronopathy syndrome
- Disorder of vision
- Dissociative neurological symptom disorder with visual symptom
- Functional vision problem
- Global developmental delay, visual anomalies, progressive cerebellar atrophy, truncal hypotonia syndrome
- Higher-order wavefront aberration
- Infantile hemangioma
- Interference with vision
- Progressive visual impairment
- Speech delay
- Strawberry nevus of skin
- Superficial infantile hemangioma of periorbital region
- Visual alteration
- Visual disturbance
- Visual disturbance as sequela of cerebrovascular disease
- Visual symptoms
- Wavefront aberration
Instructional NotesGuidance
Instructions from the official ICD-10-CM Tabular List that apply to H53.9: its own notes plus those printed at Chapter 7. A note printed at a category, block or chapter applies to every code under it.
Excludes2
Not included here: the excluded condition is not part of this code, but a patient may have both, so both codes may be reported.
- certain conditions originating in the perinatal period (P04-P96)
- certain infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99)
- complications of pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (O00-O9A)
- congenital malformations, deformations, and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99)
- diabetes mellitus related eye conditions (E09.3-, E10.3-, E11.3-, E13.3-)
- endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E88)
- injury (trauma) of eye and orbit (S05.-)
- injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00-T88)
- neoplasms (C00-D49)
- symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R94)
- syphilis related eye disorders (A50.01, A50.3-, A51.43, A52.71)
Notes
General instructions on how these codes are used.
- Use an external cause code following the code for the eye condition, if applicable, to identify the cause of the eye condition
Source: CMS ICD-10-CM Tabular List. How to read instructional notes.
Index to Diseases and InjuriesGuidance
Alphabetical index entries that point to this code.
Disturbance (s) See Also: Disease;
vision, visual H53.9
disturbance H53.9
Clinical ClassificationClinical
AHRQ’s CCSR groups this code into broader clinical categories.
Clinical InformationClinical
Visual Disturbance
an interference to normal eyesight.
Patient EducationClinical
Vision Impairment and Blindness
Vision impairment is the loss of vision. It includes blindness, which means that you have lost all or most of your sight. It also includes low vision, which means you have some vision, but the vision loss makes it hard to do everyday activities. You may have trouble reading, shopping, cooking, writing, and watching TV.
The full article covers:
- What is vision impairment?
- What causes vision impairment?
- How is vision impairment diagnosed?
- What are the types of low vision?
- What are the treatments for low vision?
- How can I make the most of my remaining sight?
- Can vision impairment be prevented?
Read the full article at MedlinePlus
Courtesy of MedlinePlus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Convert H53.9 to ICD-9-CMHistory
The closest ICD-9-CM equivalents under the General Equivalence Mappings.
Code HistoryHistory
Questions About H53.9Overview
What is the ICD-10 code for unspecified visual disturbance?
The ICD-10-CM code for unspecified visual disturbance is H53.9 (sometimes written as H539). It is billable on HIPAA-covered claims from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.
Is H53.9 (Visual disturbances) a billable code?
Yes. This is a billable ICD-10-CM code, specific enough to report unspecified visual disturbance on HIPAA-covered claims from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.
What MS-DRG does H53.9 group to?
When unspecified visual disturbance is the principal diagnosis on an inpatient stay, it groups to MS-DRG 125, 124, with relative weights from 0.7699 to 1.2470 depending on complications. Higher weights mean higher Medicare reimbursement.
What is the ICD-9 equivalent of H53.9?
Under the General Equivalence Mappings, unspecified visual disturbance converts to ICD-9-CM 368.9 (visual disturbance NOS). The mapping is a direct match.
