2027 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code R42Dizziness and giddiness
ICD-10-CM Codes›R00–R99›R40-R46›R42
- Billable — Valid for Submission
- Not Chronic
R42 is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for dizziness and giddiness. It is valid on HIPAA claims for fiscal year 2027 (October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027) and groups to MS-DRG 149. As a symptom code, it should not be used as a principal diagnosis once a related definitive diagnosis has been established. In AHRQ's Clinical Classifications Software (CCSR), this diagnosis falls under General sensation/perception signs and symptoms.
Code Identity
Code Classification
Quality Payment Program MeasuresBilling
Medicare quality measures that can apply when R42 is part of the patient record.
Referral for Otologic Evaluation for Patients with Acute or Chronic Dizziness
High Priority: YES
Measure Type: Process
Submission Methods: Claims, Registry
Description: Percentage of patients aged birth and older referred to a physician (preferably a physician specially trained in disorders of the ear) for an otologic evaluation subsequent to an audiologic evaluation after presenting with acute or chronic dizziness.
Approximate SynonymsGuidance
Alternate terms and clinical phrases that map to this code.
- Apoplectic vertigo
- Cervical vertigo
- Chronic vertigo
- Congenital non-progressive ataxia
- Constant vertigo
- Dissociative neurological symptom disorder co-occurrent with dizziness
- Dizziness
- Dizziness and giddiness
- Dizziness caused by drug
- Dizziness following neck extension
- Dizziness of unknown cause
- Dizziness on standing up
- Dizziness present
- Dizzy spells
- Dysequilibrium syndrome
- Episodic recurrent vertigo
- Essential vertigo
- Exertional dizziness
- Felt faint
- Giddiness
- Giddiness present
- Lateral vertigo
- Lightheadedness
- Loss of equilibrium
- Mal de debarquement syndrome
- Multisensory dizziness
- Nocturnal vertigo
- Non-labyrinthine vertigo
- Non-progressive cerebellar ataxia
- Objective vertigo
- Ocular vertigo
- Oscillation of surroundings
- Persistent postural perceptual dizziness
- Posttraumatic vertigo
- Postural dizziness
- Postural lightheadedness
- Severe vertigo
- Severe vertigo, acute onset
- Subjective vertigo
- Vertigo
- Vertigo as late effect of stroke
- Vertigo as sequela of cerebrovascular disease
- Vertigo as sequela of ischemic cerebrovascular accident
- Vertigo associated with recent change in eyeglasses
- Vertigo caused by drug
- Vertigo due to and following embolic cerebrovascular accident
- Vertigo due to and following hemorrhagic cerebrovascular accident
- Vertigo due to brain injury
- Vertigo due to cervical arthrosis
- Vertigo on awakening
- Vertigo preceded by chewing
- Vertigo preceded by head injury
- Vertigo preceded by prolonged dental work or oral surgery
- Vertigo preceded by unsteady feeling
- Vertigo produced by neck pressure
- Vertigo when trying to urinate
- Vertigo, acute onset with vomiting and inability to stand
- Vomiting symptom
Instructional NotesGuidance
Instructions from the official ICD-10-CM Tabular List that apply to R42: its own notes plus those printed at block R40-R46 and Chapter 18. A note printed at a category, block or chapter applies to every code under it.
Applicable To
Conditions this code is used for: synonyms of the title or, for "other specified" codes, the conditions assigned to it. The list is not exhaustive.
- Light-headedness
- Vertigo NOS
Excludes1
Not coded here: the excluded code is never reported together with this one, unless the two conditions are unrelated.
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.
Notes
General instructions on how these codes are used.
- This chapter includes symptoms, signs, abnormal results of clinical or other investigative procedures, and ill-defined conditions regarding which no diagnosis classifiable elsewhere is recorded.
- Signs and symptoms that point rather definitely to a given diagnosis have been assigned to a category in other chapters of the classification. In general, categories in this chapter include the less well-defined conditions and symptoms that, without the necessary study of the case to establish a final diagnosis, point perhaps equally to two or more diseases or to two or more systems of the body. Practically all categories in the chapter could be designated 'not otherwise specified', 'unknown etiology' or 'transient'. The Alphabetical Index should be consulted to determine which symptoms and signs are to be allocated here and which to other chapters. The residual subcategories, numbered .8, are generally provided for other relevant symptoms that cannot be allocated elsewhere in the classification.
- The conditions and signs or symptoms included in categories R00-R94 consist of:
- (a) cases for which no more specific diagnosis can be made even after all the facts bearing on the case have been investigated;
- (b) signs or symptoms existing at the time of initial encounter that proved to be transient and whose causes could not be determined;
- (c) provisional diagnosis in a patient who failed to return for further investigation or care;
- (d) cases referred elsewhere for investigation or treatment before the diagnosis was made;
- (e) cases in which a more precise diagnosis was not available for any other reason;
- (f) certain symptoms, for which supplementary information is provided, that represent important problems in medical care in their own right.
Source: CMS ICD-10-CM Tabular List. How to read instructional notes.
Referenced in Other NotesGuidance
Instructional notes printed at other codes that name R42, its category, or a range that includes it.
Excludes1 3
These codes carry an Excludes1 note naming R42: they are not reported together with it, unless the two conditions are unrelated.
Use Additional Code 1
These codes say to use an additional code from the note, and R42 is one of the codes named.
- I49.82 Ventricular bigeminydizziness (R42)
Index to Diseases and InjuriesGuidance
Alphabetical index entries that point to this code.
Disturbance (s) See Also: Disease;
equilibrium R42
Dizziness R42
Dysequilibrium R42
Giddiness R42
headedness R42
Syndrome See Also: Disease;
Vertigo R42
Clinical ClassificationClinical
AHRQ’s CCSR groups this code into broader clinical categories.
Clinical InformationClinical
Dizziness
an imprecise term which may refer to a sense of spatial disorientation, motion of the environment, or lightheadedness.Vertigo
an illusion of movement, either of the external world revolving around the individual or of the individual revolving in space. vertigo may be associated with disorders of the inner ear (ear, inner); vestibular nerve; brainstem; or cerebral cortex. lesions in the temporal lobe and parietal lobe may be associated with focal seizures that may feature vertigo as an ictal manifestation. (from adams et al., principles of neurology, 6th ed, pp300-1)
Patient EducationClinical
Dizziness and Vertigo
Dizziness and vertigo are not the same thing, but they are often mixed up.
The full article covers:
- What is dizziness and vertigo?
- What causes dizziness and vertigo?
- How is the cause of dizziness and vertigo diagnosed?
- What are the treatments for dizziness and vertigo?
Read the full article at MedlinePlus
Courtesy of MedlinePlus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Convert R42 to ICD-9-CMHistory
The closest ICD-9-CM equivalents under the General Equivalence Mappings.
Code HistoryHistory
Questions About R42Overview
What is the ICD-10 code for dizziness and giddiness?
The ICD-10-CM code for dizziness and giddiness is R42. It is billable on HIPAA-covered claims from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.
Is R42 (Dizziness and giddiness) a billable code?
Yes. This is a billable ICD-10-CM code, specific enough to report dizziness and giddiness on HIPAA-covered claims from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.
What MS-DRG does R42 group to?
When dizziness and giddiness is the principal diagnosis on an inpatient stay, it groups to MS-DRG 149 (dysequilibrium), which carries a relative weight of 0.7526. Higher weights mean higher Medicare reimbursement.
Can R42 be a principal diagnosis?
Use it with care. This is a symptom code, so once a definitive diagnosis explaining the dizziness and giddiness is established, that condition takes the principal position instead.
Can R42 be reported with a code from H81?
Not as a rule. The Excludes1 note on R42 lists "vertiginous syndromes (H81.-)". An Excludes1 note means the excluded code is never reported together with this one; the only exception is when the two conditions are unrelated to each other (Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).
