2021 ICD-10-CM Code K70.40
Alcoholic hepatic failure without coma
Valid for Submission
K70.40 is a billable diagnosis code used to specify a medical diagnosis of alcoholic hepatic failure without coma. The code K70.40 is valid during the fiscal year 2021 from October 01, 2020 through September 30, 2021 for the submission of HIPAA-covered transactions.
The ICD-10-CM code K70.40 might also be used to specify conditions or terms like alcoholic hepatic failure or alcoholic liver damage.
The code K70.40 is applicable to adult patients aged 15 through 124 years inclusive. It is clinically and virtually impossible to use this code on a patient outside the stated age range.
ICD-10: | K70.40 |
Short Description: | Alcoholic hepatic failure without coma |
Long Description: | Alcoholic hepatic failure without coma |
Code Classification
Index to Diseases and Injuries
The Index to Diseases and Injuries is an alphabetical listing of medical terms, with each term mapped to one or more ICD-10 code(s). The following references for the code K70.40 are found in the index:
- - Disease, diseased - See Also: Syndrome;
- - liver (chronic) (organic) - K76.9
- - alcoholic (chronic) - K70.9
- - failure - K70.40
- - alcoholic (chronic) - K70.9
- - liver (chronic) (organic) - K76.9
- - Failure, failed
- - hepatic - K72.90
- - alcoholic (acute) (chronic) (subacute) - K70.40
- - hepatic - K72.90
Code Edits
The Medicare Code Editor (MCE) detects and reports errors in the coding of claims data. The following ICD-10 Code Edits are applicable to this code:
- Adult diagnoses - The Medicare Code Editor detects inconsistencies in adult cases by checking a patient's age and any diagnosis on the patient's record. The adult code edits apply to patients age range is 15–124 years inclusive (e.g., senile delirium, mature cataract).
Approximate Synonyms
The following clinical terms are approximate synonyms or lay terms that might be used to identify the correct diagnosis code:
- Alcoholic hepatic failure
- Alcoholic liver damage
Diagnostic Related Groups - MS-DRG Mapping
The ICD-10 code K70.40 is grouped in the following groups for version MS-DRG V38.0 What are Diagnostic Related Groups?
The Diagnostic Related Groups (DRGs) are a patient classification scheme which provides a means of relating the type of patients a hospital treats. The DRGs divides all possible principal diagnoses into mutually exclusive principal diagnosis areas referred to as Major Diagnostic Categories (MDC). applicable from 10/01/2020 through 09/30/2021.
Convert K70.40 to ICD-9 Code
The General Equivalency Mapping (GEM) crosswalk indicates an approximate mapping between the ICD-10 code K70.40 its ICD-9 equivalent. The approximate mapping means there is not an exact match between the ICD-10 code and the ICD-9 code and the mapped code is not a precise representation of the original code.
- 571.3 - Alcohol liver damage NOS (Approximate Flag)
Information for Patients
Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse
Also called: Alcohol dependence
For most adults, moderate alcohol use is probably not harmful. However, about 18 million adult Americans have an alcohol use disorder (AUD). This means that their drinking causes distress and harm. It includes alcoholism and alcohol abuse.
Alcoholism, or alcohol dependence, is a disease that causes
- Craving - a strong need to drink
- Loss of control - not being able to stop drinking once you've started
- Physical dependence - withdrawal symptoms
- Tolerance - the need to drink more alcohol to feel the same effect
With alcohol abuse, you are not physically dependent, but you still have a serious problem. The drinking may cause problems at home, work, or school. It may cause you to put yourself in dangerous situations, or lead to legal or social problems.
Another common problem is binge drinking. It is drinking about five or more drinks in two hours for men. For women, it is about four or more drinks in two hours.
Too much alcohol is dangerous. Heavy drinking can increase the risk of certain cancers. It can cause damage to the liver, brain, and other organs. Drinking during pregnancy can harm your baby. Alcohol also increases the risk of death from car crashes, injuries, homicide, and suicide.
You may have an AUD if you can answer yes to two or more of these questions:
In the past year, have you
- Ended up drinking more or for a longer time than you had planned to?
- Wanted to cut down or stop drinking, or tried to, but couldn't?
- Spent a lot of your time drinking, or recovering from drinking?
- Felt a strong need to drink?
- Found that drinking - or being sick from drinking - often interfered with your family life, job, or school?
- Kept drinking even though it was causing trouble with your family or friends?
- Given up or cut back on activities that you enjoyed just so you could drink?
- Gotten into dangerous situations while drinking or after drinking? Some examples are driving drunk and having unsafe sex.
- Kept drinking even though it was making you feel depressed or anxious? Or when it was adding to another health problem?
- Had to drink more and more to feel the effects of the alcohol?
- Had withdrawal symptoms when the alcohol was wearing off? They include trouble sleeping, shakiness, irritability, anxiety, depression, restlessness, nausea, and sweating. In severe cases, you could have a fever, seizures, or hallucinations.
If you have any of these symptoms, your drinking may already be a cause for concern. The more symptoms you have, the more serious the problem is. If you think you might have an AUD, see your health care provider for an evaluation. Your provider can help make a treatment plan, prescribe medicines, and if needed, give you treatment referrals.
NIH: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
- Alcohol use disorder (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Alcohol withdrawal (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Alcoholic ketoacidosis (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Alcoholic liver disease (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Alcoholic neuropathy (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Deciding to quit drinking alcohol (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Health risks of alcohol use (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Helping a loved one with a drinking problem (Medical Encyclopedia)
- When you are drinking too much - tips for cutting back (Medical Encyclopedia)
[Learn More in MedlinePlus]
Liver Diseases
Also called: Hepatic disease
Your liver is the largest organ inside your body. It helps your body digest food, store energy, and remove poisons.
There are many kinds of liver diseases:
- Diseases caused by viruses, such as hepatitis A, hepatitis B, and hepatitis C
- Diseases caused by drugs, poisons, or too much alcohol. Examples include fatty liver disease and cirrhosis.
- Liver cancer
- Inherited diseases, such as hemochromatosis and Wilson disease
Symptoms of liver disease can vary, but they often include swelling of the abdomen and legs, bruising easily, changes in the color of your stool and urine, and jaundice, or yellowing of the skin and eyes. Sometimes there are no symptoms. Tests such as imaging tests and liver function tests can check for liver damage and help to diagnose liver diseases.
- ALP isoenzyme test (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Ascites (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Diet - liver disease (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Hepatic encephalopathy (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Hepatomegaly (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Liver disease (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Liver scan (Medical Encyclopedia)
[Learn More in MedlinePlus]
Code History
- 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 (First year ICD-10-CM implemented into the HIPAA code set)