R68.13 - Apparent life threatening event in infant (ALTE)

Version 2023
Billable Code
No Valid Principal Dx
Pediatric Diagnoses
Convert to ICD-9
ICD-10:R68.13
Short Description:Apparent life threatening event in infant (ALTE)
Long Description:Apparent life threatening event in infant (ALTE)
Status: Valid for Submission
Version:ICD-10-CM 2023
Code Classification:
  • Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00–R99)
    • General symptoms and signs (R50-R69)
      • Other general symptoms and signs (R68)

R68.13 is a billable ICD-10 code used to specify a medical diagnosis of apparent life threatening event in infant (alte). The code is valid during the fiscal year 2023 from October 01, 2022 through September 30, 2023 for the submission of HIPAA-covered transactions.

The code R68.13 is applicable for patients aged 0 through 17 years inclusive. It is clinically and virtually impossible to use this code on a patient outside the stated age range.

According to ICD-10-CM guidelines this code should not to be used as a principal diagnosis code when a related definitive diagnosis has been established.

Approximate Synonyms

The following clinical terms are approximate synonyms or lay terms that might be used to identify the correct diagnosis code:

Tabular List of Diseases and Injuries

The Tabular List of Diseases and Injuries is a list of ICD-10 codes, organized "head to toe" into chapters and sections with coding notes and guidance for inclusions, exclusions, descriptions and more. The following references are applicable to this diagnosis code:


Inclusion Terms

Inclusion Terms
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.

Code First

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.

Use Additional Code

Use Additional Code
The “use additional code” indicates that a secondary code could be used to further specify the patient’s condition. This note is not mandatory and is only used if enough information is available to assign an additional code.

Index to Diseases and Injuries References

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 this diagnosis code are found in the injuries and diseases index:

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:

Convert to ICD-9 Code

Source ICD-10 CodeTarget ICD-9 Code
R68.13799.82 - Appar life threat-infant

Code History

Previous Code: R68.12

Parent Code: R68.1

Next Code: R68.19