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  5. Resistance to antimicrobial drugs (Z16)

Resistance to antimicrobial drugs (Z16)

ICD-10 code range Z16 is specifically used to identify different types of resistance to antimicrobial drugs. These codes help document cases where bacteria or other microbes are resistant to antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals, or antiparasitic agents, which is critical for effective treatment planning and infection control.

This code chapter covers resistance to diverse drugs, including beta lactam antibiotics (Z16.1) like penicillins (Z16.11) and extended spectrum beta lactamase producing bacteria (Z16.12), which are often called "Beta lactam resistant bacterial infections." It also includes resistance to powerful antibiotics such as carbapenems (Z16.13, Z16.19) and vancomycin (Z16.21) used for severe infections, plus resistance to quinolones and fluoroquinolones (Z16.23) common in treating tuberculosis and other bacterial infections. Codes like Z16.24 and Z16.35 cover cases of multidrug resistance, highlighting infections by multi drug resistant bacteria or Acinetobacter. Resistance to antifungal (Z16.32) or antiviral drugs (Z16.33) is similarly addressed. Antimycobacterial drug resistance is detailed with codes for single (Z16.341) and multiple drug resistance (Z16.342), important for documenting antibiotic resistant tuberculosis. This granularity supports accurate clinical documentation of drug resistance patterns crucial for patient care and public health.

Instructional Notations

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.

  • the infection

Type 1 Excludes

A type 1 excludes note is a pure excludes note. It means "NOT CODED HERE!" An Excludes1 note indicates that the code excluded should never be used at the same time as the code above the Excludes1 note. An Excludes1 is used when two conditions cannot occur together, such as a congenital form versus an acquired form of the same condition.

  • Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection A49.02
  • Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia J15.212
  • Sepsis due to Methicillin resistant Staphylococcus aureus A41.02

  • The codes in this category are provided for use as additional codes to identify the resistance and non-responsiveness of a condition to antimicrobial drugs.