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  6. 2026 ICD-10-CM Code H46.2

2026 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code H46.2

Nutritional optic neuropathy

ICD-10-CM Code:
H46.2
ICD-10 Code for:
Nutritional optic neuropathy
Is Billable?
Yes - Valid for Submission
Chronic Condition Indicator: [1]
Chronic
Code Navigator:

H46.2 is a billable diagnosis code used to specify a medical diagnosis of nutritional optic neuropathy. The code is valid during the current fiscal year for the submission of HIPAA-covered transactions from October 01, 2025 through September 30, 2026.

Code Classification

  • Diseases of the eye and adnexa
    H00–H59
    • Disorders of optic nerve and visual pathways
      H46-H47
      • Optic neuritis
        H46

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.

  • Cranial neuropathy due to micronutrient deficiency
  • Cranial neuropathy due to micronutrient deficiency
  • Cranial neuropathy due to micronutrient deficiency
  • Cranial neuropathy due to micronutrient deficiency
  • Nutritional optic neuropathy
  • Nutritional optic neuropathy
  • Nutritional optic neuropathy
  • Nutritional optic neuropathy
  • Optic neuropathy due to folate deficiency
  • Optic neuropathy due to micronutrient deficiency
  • Optic neuropathy due to micronutrient deficiency
  • Optic neuropathy due to micronutrient deficiency
  • Optic neuropathy due to micronutrient deficiency
  • Optic neuropathy due to thiamine deficiency
  • Vitamin B12 deficiency optic neuropathy

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.

Neuro-ophthalmology

CCSR Code: EYE006

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

  • Optic Neuritis

    inflammation of the optic nerve. commonly associated conditions include autoimmune disorders such as multiple sclerosis, infections, and granulomatous diseases. clinical features include retro-orbital pain that is aggravated by eye movement, loss of color vision, and contrast sensitivity that may progress to severe visual loss, an afferent pupillary defect (marcus-gunn pupil), and in some instances optic disc hyperemia and swelling. inflammation may occur in the portion of the nerve within the globe (neuropapillitis or anterior optic neuritis) or the portion behind the globe (retrobulbar neuritis or posterior optic neuritis).

  • Multiple Sclerosis

    an autoimmune disorder mainly affecting young adults and characterized by destruction of myelin in the central nervous system. pathologic findings include multiple sharply demarcated areas of demyelination throughout the white matter of the central nervous system. clinical manifestations include visual loss, extra-ocular movement disorders, paresthesias, loss of sensation, weakness, dysarthria, spasticity, ataxia, and bladder dysfunction. the usual pattern is one of recurrent attacks followed by partial recovery (see multiple sclerosis, relapsing-remitting), but acute fulminating and chronic progressive forms (see multiple sclerosis, chronic progressive) also occur. (adams et al., principles of neurology, 6th ed, p903)

  • Grade 1 Optic Neuritis, CTCAE

    asymptomatic or mild symptoms; only enhancement on mri scan with no change in vision

  • Grade 2 Optic Neuritis, CTCAE

    treatment indicated; best corrected visual acuity 20/40 and better or 3 lines or less decreased vision from known baseline in the affected eye; limiting instrumental adl or mild/moderate impact on age-appropriate normal daily activity (pediatric)

  • Grade 3 Optic Neuritis, CTCAE

    severe or medically significant but not immediately sight-threatening; decrease in visual acuity (best corrected visual acuity worse than 20/40 or more than 3 lines of decreased vision from known baseline, up to 20/200) in the affected eye; oral steroids indicated; limiting self-care adl or severe impact on age-appropriate normal daily activity (pediatric)

  • Grade 4 Optic Neuritis, CTCAE

    sight-threatening consequences; urgent intervention indicated; best corrected visual acuity of 20/200 or worse in the affected eye: significant visual field loss; marked optic disc edema or enhancement on mri scan; intravenous steroids indicated; blindness

  • Optic Neuritis, CTCAE

    a disorder characterized by inflammation and demyelination of the optic nerve that causes acute, usually monocular, visual loss.

  • Optic Neuritis

    a disorder characterized by inflammation of the optic nerve. causes include autoimmune disorders, infections, toxins, drugs, and multiple sclerosis. it may manifest with acute loss of vision and pain.

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).

Index of External Cause of Injuries

References found for this diagnosis code in the External Cause of Injuries Index:

    • Neuritis(rheumatoid)
      • optic (nerve) (hereditary) (sympathetic)
        • nutritional

Convert H46.2 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.

Nutrition optc neuropthy

ICD-9-CM: 377.33

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.

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Patient Education


Optic Nerve Disorders

The optic nerve is a bundle of more than 1 million nerve fibers that carry visual messages. You have one connecting the back of each eye (your retina) to your brain. Damage to an optic nerve can cause vision loss. The type of vision loss and how severe it is depends on where the damage occurs. It may affect one or both eyes.

There are many different types of optic nerve disorders, including:

  • Glaucoma is a group of diseases that are the leading cause of blindness in the United States. Glaucoma usually happens when the fluid pressure inside the eyes slowly rises and damages the optic nerve.
  • Optic neuritis is an inflammation of the optic nerve. Causes include infections and immune-related illnesses such as multiple sclerosis. Sometimes the cause is unknown.
  • Optic nerve atrophy is damage to the optic nerve. Causes include poor blood flow to the eye, disease, trauma, or exposure to toxic substances.
  • Optic nerve head drusen are pockets of protein and calcium salts that build up in the optic nerve over time

Contact your health care provider if you are having vision problems. Tests for optic nerve disorders may include eye exams, ophthalmoscopy (an examination of the back of your eye), and imaging tests. Treatment depends on which disorder that you have. With some optic nerve disorders, you may get your vision back. With others, there is no treatment, or treatment may only prevent further vision loss.


[Learn More in MedlinePlus]

Code History

  • FY 2026 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2025 through 9/30/2026
  • FY 2025 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2024 through 9/30/2025
  • 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.