R78.0 - Finding of alcohol in blood
| ICD-10: | R78.0 |
| Short Description: | Finding of alcohol in blood |
| Long Description: | Finding of alcohol in blood |
| Status: | Valid for Submission |
| Version: | ICD-10-CM 2023 |
| Code Classification: |
R78.0 is a billable ICD-10 code used to specify a medical diagnosis of finding of alcohol in blood. The code is valid during the fiscal year 2023 from October 01, 2022 through September 30, 2023 for the submission of HIPAA-covered transactions.
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:
- Ethanol in blood specimen above legal threshold for operating vehicle
- Finding of alcohol in blood
- High alcohol level in blood
- High ethanol level in blood
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:
Use Additional Code
Use Additional CodeThe “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.
- external cause code Y90
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:
- - Excess, excessive, excessively
- - alcohol level in blood - R78.0
- - Findings, abnormal, inconclusive, without diagnosis - See Also: Abnormal;
- - alcohol in blood - R78.0
- - in blood (of substance not normally found in blood) - R78.9
- - alcohol (excessive level) - R78.0
Convert to ICD-9 Code
| Source ICD-10 Code | Target ICD-9 Code | |
|---|---|---|
| R78.0 | 790.3 - Excess blood-alcohol lev | |
| Approximate Flag - The approximate mapping means there is not an exact match between the ICD-10 and ICD-9 codes and the mapped code is not a precise representation of the original code. | ||
Patient Education
Alcohol
If you are like many Americans, you drink alcohol at least occasionally. For many people, moderate drinking is probably safe. But drinking less is better for your health than drinking more. And there are some people who should not drink at all.
Because drinking too much can be harmful, it's important to know how alcohol affects you and how much is too much.
How does alcohol affect the body?
Alcohol is a central nervous system depressant. This means that it is a drug that slows down brain activity. It can change your mood, behavior, and self-control. It can cause problems with memory and thinking clearly. Alcohol can also affect your coordination and physical control.
Alcohol also has effects on the other organs in your body. For example, it can raise your blood pressure and heart rate. If you drink too much at once, it could make you throw up.
Why are the effects of alcohol different from person to person?
Alcohol's effects vary from person to person, depending on a variety of factors, including:
- How much you drank
- How quickly you drank it
- The amount of food you ate before drinking
- Your age
- Your sex
- Your race or ethnicity
- Your physical condition
- Whether or not you have a family history of alcohol problems
What is moderate drinking?
- For most women, moderate drinking is no more than one standard drink a day
- For most men, moderate drinking is no more than two standard drinks a day
Even though moderate drinking may be safe for many people, there are still risks. Moderate drinking can raise the risk of death from certain cancers and heart diseases.
What is a standard drink?
In the United States, a standard drink is one that contains about 14 grams of pure alcohol, which is found in:
- 12 ounces of beer (5% alcohol content)
- 5 ounces of wine (12% alcohol content)
- 1.5 ounces or a "shot" of distilled spirits or liquor (40% alcohol content)
Who should not drink alcohol?
Some people should not drink alcohol at all, including those who:
- Are recovering from an alcohol use disorder (AUD) or are unable to control the amount they drink
- Are under age 21
- Are pregnant or trying to become pregnant
- Are taking medicines that can interact with alcohol
- Have medical conditions that get can worse if you drink alcohol
- Are planning on driving
- Will be operating machinery
If you have questions about whether it is safe for you to drink, talk with your health care provider.
What is excessive drinking?
Excessive drinking includes binge drinking and heavy alcohol use:
- Binge drinking is drinking so much at once that your blood alcohol concentration (BAC) level is 0.08% or more. For a man, this usually happens after having 5 or more drinks within a few hours. For a woman, it is after about 4 or more drinks within a few hours.
- Heavy alcohol use is having having more than 4 drinks on any day for men or more than 3 drinks for women
Binge drinking raises your risk of injuries, car crashes, and alcohol poisoning. It also puts you of becoming violent or being the victim of violence.
Heavy alcohol use over a long period of time may cause health problems such as:
- Alcohol use disorder
- Liver diseases, including cirrhosis and fatty liver disease
- Heart diseases
- Increased risk for certain cancers
- Increased risk of injuries
Heavy alcohol use can also cause problems at home, at work, and with friends. But treatment can help.
NIH: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
[Learn More in MedlinePlus]
Code History
- FY 2023 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2022 through 9/30/2023
- FY 2022 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2021 through 9/30/2022
- 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)
