2025 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code E28.2

Polycystic ovarian syndrome

ICD-10-CM Code:
E28.2
ICD-10 Code for:
Polycystic ovarian syndrome
Is Billable?
Yes - Valid for Submission
Chronic Condition Indicator: [1]
Chronic
Code Navigator:

E28.2 is a billable diagnosis code used to specify a medical diagnosis of polycystic ovarian syndrome. The code is valid during the current fiscal year for the submission of HIPAA-covered transactions from October 01, 2024 through September 30, 2025.

Code Classification

  • Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases
    E00–E89
    • Disorders of other endocrine glands
      E20-E35
      • Ovarian dysfunction
        E28

Approximate Synonyms

The following list of clinical terms are approximate synonyms, alternative descriptions, or common phrases that might be used by patients, healthcare providers, or medical coders to describe the same condition. These synonyms and related diagnosis terms are often used when searching for an ICD-10 code, especially when the exact medical terminology is unclear. Whether you're looking for lay terms, similar diagnosis names, or common language alternatives, this list can help guide you to the correct ICD-10 classification.

  • Androgenetic alopecia in association with polycystic ovaries
  • Cyst of bilateral ovaries
  • Cyst of bilateral ovaries
  • Diffuse alopecia
  • Endocrine alopecia
  • Hyperandrogenization syndrome
  • Hyperandrogenization syndrome
  • Hyperandrogenization syndrome
  • Hyperandrogenization syndrome
  • Isosexual virilization
  • Male pattern alopecia
  • Polycystic bilateral ovaries
  • Polycystic left ovary
  • Polycystic ovary
  • Polycystic ovary syndrome
  • Polycystic ovary syndrome of bilateral ovaries
  • Polycystic ovary syndrome of left ovary
  • Polycystic ovary syndrome of right ovary
  • Polycystic right ovary

Clinical Classification

Clinical Classifications group individual ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes into broader, clinically meaningful categories. These categories help simplify complex data by organizing related conditions under common clinical themes.

They are especially useful for data analysis, reporting, and clinical decision-making. Even when diagnosis codes differ, similar conditions can be grouped together based on their clinical relevance. Each category is assigned a unique CCSR code that represents a specific clinical concept, often tied to a body system or medical specialty.

Other specified and unspecified endocrine disorders

CCSR Code: END015

Inpatient Default: Y - Yes, default inpatient assignment for principal diagnosis or first-listed diagnosis.

Outpatient Default: Y - Yes, default outpatient assignment for principal diagnosis or first-listed diagnosis.

Clinical Information

  • Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

    a complex disorder characterized by infertility, hirsutism; obesity; and various menstrual disturbances such as oligomenorrhea; amenorrhea; anovulation. polycystic ovary syndrome is usually associated with bilateral enlarged ovaries studded with atretic follicles, not with cysts. the term, polycystic ovary, is misleading.
  • Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

    a disorder that manifests as multiple cysts on the ovaries. it results in hormonal imbalances and leads to irregular and abnormal menstrual periods, excess growth of hair, acne eruptions and obesity.
  • Polycystic Ovary Syndrome|PCOS|PCOS|Polycystic Ovarian Disease|Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS)|Stein-Leventhal Syndrome|Stein-Leventhal Syndrome|polycystic ovary syndrome

    a disorder that manifests as multiple cysts on the ovaries. it results in hormonal imbalances and leads to irregular and abnormal menstrual periods, excess growth of hair, acne eruptions and obesity.

Tabular List of Diseases and Injuries

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


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.
  • Sclerocystic ovary syndrome
  • Stein-Leventhal syndrome

Index to Diseases and Injuries References

The following annotation back-references for this diagnosis code are found in the injuries and diseases index. The Index to Diseases and Injuries is an alphabetical listing of medical terms, with each term mapped to one or more ICD-10-CM code(s).

Convert E28.2 to ICD-9-CM

Below are the ICD-9 codes that most closely match this ICD-10 code, based on the General Equivalence Mappings (GEMs). This ICD-10 to ICD-9 crosswalk tool is helpful for coders who need to reference legacy diagnosis codes for audits, historical claims, or approximate code comparisons.

Polycystic ovaries

ICD-9-CM: 256.4

This is a direct match with no additional mapping qualifiers. The absence of a flag generally means the mapping is considered exact or precise. In other words, the ICD-10 code maps cleanly to the ICD-9 code without qualification, approximation, or needing multiple codes.

Patient Education


Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

What is polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)?

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is the name for set of symptoms that are related to an imbalance of hormones. PCOS affects the ovaries, as well as many other parts of the body.

People with PCOS usually have at least two of these problems:

  • Not ovulating. Normally, your ovaries make the egg that is released each month as part of a healthy menstrual cycle. This is called ovulation. But with PCOS, the egg may not develop as it should, or it may not be released during ovulation. Your periods may be irregular, or you may not have them at all.
  • High levels of androgens. Androgens are hormones that are important for normal male sexual development. Women normally make smaller amounts of androgens. Having higher levels of androgens can cause you to have extra body or facial hair (called hirsutism).
  • Cysts in one or both ovaries. Cysts are growths that are small, fluid-filled sacs.

What causes polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)?

The exact cause of PCOS in unknown. Research has shown that different factors may play a role, including:

  • Genetics. PCOS tends to run in families.
  • Imbalances in androgen levels.
  • Insulin resistance. This is a condition in which your body can't use insulin properly. Insulin is a hormone that helps move blood glucose (sugar) into your cells to give them energy. Insulin resistance can lead to high blood glucose levels.

What are the symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)?

PCOS often develops as young as age 11 or 12, around the time of your first period. But you can develop it later.

The symptoms can vary from person to person. Some people have few or even no symptoms. They may not realize they have PCOS until they have trouble getting pregnant. Other people may have more severe symptoms.

The symptoms of PCOS may include:

  • Irregular or missed menstrual periods.
  • Too much hair on the face, chest, stomach, or thighs.
  • Obesity, weight gain, or trouble losing weight.
  • Severe acne which may be hard to treat.
  • Oily skin.
  • Patches of thickened dark skin (called acanthosis nigricans).
  • Infertility. PCOS is one of the most common causes of infertility. But many people with PCOS can still get pregnant.

What other health problems are linked to polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)?

PCOS is linked to many other health problems, including:

  • Insulin resistance, which can lead to prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.
  • Heart disease. Having PCOS increases your risk, and this risk goes up as you age.
  • High blood pressure.
  • High LDL ("bad") cholesterol and low HDL ("good") cholesterol. This increases your risk of heart disease.
  • Sleep apnea, a disorder that causes you to repeatedly stop breathing during sleep.
  • Depression and anxiety.

Although there are links between PCOS and these conditions, researchers do not know whether:

  • PCOS causes some of these problems
  • Some of these problems cause PCOS, or
  • There are other conditions that cause both PCOS and these other health problems

Not everyone who has PCOS will have all these problems. However, you and your health care provider may want to monitor your health for signs of them, so they can be treated early.

How is polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) diagnosed?

There is no specific test for PCOS. To find out if you have PCOS, your provider:

  • Will do a physical exam, which will include looking for the physical signs of PCOS.
  • Will ask about your medical history and family health history.
  • May do a pelvic exam to check for signs of extra male hormones and to see if your ovaries are enlarged or swollen.
  • May order a pelvic ultrasound to look for cysts on your ovaries and check the thickness of your endometrium (the lining of your uterus, or womb).
  • May order blood tests, including tests to check your hormone levels.

What are the treatments for polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS)?

There is no cure for PCOS, but treatments can help you manage your symptoms. The treatments may include:

  • Lifestyle changes, which can help reduce many symptoms. They can also lower your risk for or help manage related health problems. These changes include:
    • Maintaining a healthy weight
    • Getting regular physical activity
    • Eating healthy foods
  • Medicines:
    • Hormonal birth control, such as pills, shots, and IUDs, can make your period more regular. They may also help remove acne and extra facial and body hair. But you would only use them if you don't want to get pregnant.
    • Anti-androgen medicines, which block the effect of androgens. This can help reduce hair loss on your head, the growth of facial and body hair, and acne. Providers do use them to help with these symptoms, but anti-androgen medicines are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat PCOS. These medicines can cause problems during pregnancy. Your provider may have you take them with birth control (to prevent pregnancy).
    • Insulin-sensitizing medicines, which are medicines that are used to treat type 2 diabetes. They improve insulin resistance and keep your blood glucose levels steady. They may also lower your androgen levels. They are not approved by the FDA to treat PCOS. But they may help with your symptoms.
    • Medicines for acne. These medicines come in pills, creams, or gels.
  • Treatments for hair removal, such as facial hair removal creams, laser hair removal, and electrolysis.
  • Fertility treatments if you are having trouble getting pregnant. They include medicines and procedures such as in vitro fertilization (IVF).

[Learn More in MedlinePlus]

Polycystic ovary syndrome

Polycystic ovary syndrome is a condition that affects women in their child-bearing years and alters the levels of multiple hormones, resulting in problems affecting many body systems.

Most women with polycystic ovary syndrome produce excess male sex hormones (androgens), a condition called hyperandrogenism. Having too much of these hormones typically leads to excessive body hair growth (hirsutism), acne, and male pattern baldness.

Hyperandrogenism and abnormal levels of other sex hormones prevent normal release of egg cells from the ovaries (ovulation) and regular menstrual periods, leading to difficulty conceiving a child (subfertility) or a complete inability to conceive (infertility). For those who achieve pregnancy, there is an increased risk of complications and pregnancy loss. Due to irregular and infrequent menstruation and hormone abnormalities, affected women have an increased risk of cancer of the uterine lining (endometrial cancer).

In polycystic ovary syndrome, one or both ovaries can contain multiple small, immature ovarian follicles that can appear as cysts on medical imaging. Normally, ovarian follicles contain egg cells, which are released during ovulation. In polycystic ovary syndrome, abnormal hormone levels prevent follicles from growing and maturing to release egg cells. Instead, these immature follicles accumulate in the ovaries. Affected women can have 12 or more of these follicles. The number of these follicles usually decreases with age.

About half of all women with polycystic ovary syndrome are overweight or have obesity and are at increased risk of a fatty liver. Additionally, many women with polycystic ovary syndrome have elevated levels of insulin, which is a hormone that helps control levels of blood glucose, also called blood sugar. By age 40, about 10 percent of overweight women with polycystic ovary syndrome develop abnormally high blood glucose levels (type 2 diabetes), and up to 35 percent develop prediabetes (higher-than-normal blood glucose levels that do not reach the cutoff for diabetes). Obesity and increased insulin levels (hyperinsulinemia) further increase the production of androgens in polycystic ovary syndrome.

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome are also at increased risk for developing metabolic syndrome, which is a group of conditions that include high blood pressure (hypertension), increased belly fat, high levels of unhealthy fats and low levels of healthy fats in the blood, and high blood glucose levels. About 20 percent of affected adults experience pauses in breathing during sleep (sleep apnea). Women with polycystic ovary syndrome are more likely than women in the general popluation to have mood disorders such as depression.


[Learn More in MedlinePlus]

Code History

  • FY 2024 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2023 through 9/30/2024
  • 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. This was the first year ICD-10-CM was implemented into the HIPAA code set.

Footnotes

[1] Chronic - a chronic condition code indicates a condition lasting 12 months or longer and its effect on the patient based on one or both of the following criteria:

  • The condition results in the need for ongoing intervention with medical products,treatment, services, and special equipment
  • The condition places limitations on self-care, independent living, and social interactions.