2025 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code M13.0

Polyarthritis, unspecified

ICD-10-CM Code:
M13.0
ICD-10 Code for:
Polyarthritis, unspecified
Is Billable?
Yes - Valid for Submission
Chronic Condition Indicator: [1]
Chronic
Code Navigator:

M13.0 is a billable diagnosis code used to specify a medical diagnosis of polyarthritis, unspecified. The code is valid during the current fiscal year for the submission of HIPAA-covered transactions from October 01, 2024 through September 30, 2025.

Unspecified diagnosis codes like M13.0 are acceptable when clinical information is unknown or not available about a particular condition. Although a more specific code is preferable, unspecified codes should be used when such codes most accurately reflect what is known about a patient's condition. Specific diagnosis codes should not be used if not supported by the patient's medical record.

Code Classification

  • Diseases of the musculoskeletal system and connective tissue
    M00–M99
    • Inflammatory polyarthropathies
      M05-M14
      • Other arthritis
        M13

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.

  • Acute polyarthritis
  • Arthropathy of multiple joints
  • Camptodactyly, arthropathy, coxa-vara, pericarditis syndrome
  • Dilated cardiomyopathy due to polyarteritis nodosa
  • Fixed flexion deformity finger
  • Polyarthritis associated with another disorder
  • Polyarthritis associated with another disorder
  • Polyarthritis associated with hemochromatosis
  • Polyarthropathy

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 joint disorders

CCSR Code: MUS007

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

  • Arthritis

    acute or chronic inflammation of joints.
  • Arthritis, Experimental

    arthritis that is induced in experimental animals. immunological methods and infectious agents can be used to develop experimental arthritis models. these methods include injections of stimulators of the immune response, such as an adjuvant (adjuvants, immunologic) or collagen.
  • Arthritis, Gouty

    arthritis, especially of the great toe, as a result of gout. acute gouty arthritis often is precipitated by trauma, infection, surgery, etc. the initial attacks are usually monoarticular but later attacks are often polyarticular. acute and chronic gouty arthritis are associated with accumulation of monosodium urate in and around affected joints.
  • Arthritis, Infectious

    arthritis caused by bacteria; rickettsia; mycoplasma; viruses; fungi; or parasites.
  • Arthritis, Juvenile

    arthritis in children, with onset before 16 years of age. the terms juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (jra) and juvenile idiopathic arthritis (jia) refer to classification systems for chronic arthritis in children. only one subtype of juvenile arthritis (polyarticular-onset, rheumatoid factor-positive) clinically resembles adult rheumatoid arthritis and is considered its childhood equivalent.
  • Arthritis, Psoriatic

    a type of inflammatory arthritis associated with psoriasis, often involving the axial joints and the peripheral terminal interphalangeal joints. it is characterized by the presence of hla-b27-associated spondylarthropathy, and the absence of rheumatoid factor.
  • Arthritis, Reactive

    an aseptic, inflammatory arthritis developing secondary to a primary extra-articular infection, most typically of the gastrointestinal tract or urogenital system. the initiating trigger pathogens are usually shigella; salmonella; yersinia; campylobacter; or chlamydia trachomatis. reactive arthritis is strongly associated with hla-b27 antigen.
  • Arthritis, Rheumatoid

    a chronic systemic disease, primarily of the joints, marked by inflammatory changes in the synovial membranes and articular structures, widespread fibrinoid degeneration of the collagen fibers in mesenchymal tissues, and by atrophy and rarefaction of bony structures. etiology is unknown, but autoimmune mechanisms have been implicated.
  • Arthritis-Encephalitis Virus, Caprine

    a species of lentivirus, subgenus ovine-caprine lentiviruses (lentiviruses, ovine-caprine), closely related to visna-maedi virus and causing acute encephalomyelitis; chronic arthritis; pneumonia; mastitis; and glomerulonephritis in goats. it is transmitted mainly in the colostrum and milk.
  • Crystal Arthropathies

    joint disorders that are characterized by accumulation of microcrystals in and around the joint including in the synovial fluid. they are classified according to the chemical nature of the crystals such as calcium pyrophosphate; basic calcium phosphates; and monosodium urate (see uric acid).
  • Lyme Disease

    an infectious disease caused by a spirochete, borrelia burgdorferi, which is transmitted chiefly by ixodes dammini (see ixodes) and pacificus ticks in the united states and ixodes ricinis (see ixodes) in europe. it is a disease with early and late cutaneous manifestations plus involvement of the nervous system, heart, eye, and joints in variable combinations. the disease was formerly known as lyme arthritis and first discovered at old lyme, connecticut.
  • Osteoarthritis

    a progressive, degenerative joint disease, the most common form of arthritis, especially in older persons. the disease is thought to result not from the aging process but from biochemical changes and biomechanical stresses affecting articular cartilage. in the foreign literature it is often called osteoarthrosis deformans.
  • Rheumatic Fever

    a febrile disease occurring as a delayed sequela of infections with streptococcus pyogenes. it is characterized by multiple focal inflammatory lesions of the connective tissue structures, such as the heart, blood vessels, and joints (polyarthritis) and brain, and by the presence of aschoff bodies in the myocardium and skin.
  • Spondylarthritis

    inflammation of the joints of the spine, the intervertebral articulations.
  • Joints

    also known as articulations, these are points of connection between the ends of certain separate bones, or where the borders of other bones are juxtaposed.
  • Spine

    the spinal or vertebral column.

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 M13.0 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.

Polyarthritis NOS-unspec

ICD-9-CM: 716.50

Approximate Flag - The approximate mapping means this ICD-10 code does not have an exact ICD-9 equivalent. The matched code is the closest available option, but it may not fully capture the original diagnosis or clinical intent.

Patient Education


Arthritis

If you feel pain and stiffness in your body or have trouble moving around, you might have arthritis. Most kinds of arthritis cause pain and swelling in your joints. Joints are places where two bones meet, such as your elbow or knee. Over time, a swollen joint can become severely damaged. Some kinds of arthritis can also cause problems in your organs, such as your eyes or skin.

Types of arthritis include:

  • Osteoarthritis is the most common type of arthritis. It's often related to aging or to an injury.
  • Autoimmune arthritis happens when your body's immune system attacks healthy cells in your body by mistake. Rheumatoid arthritis is the most common form of this kind of arthritis.
  • Juvenile arthritis is a type of arthritis that happens in children.
  • Infectious arthritis is an infection that has spread from another part of the body to the joint.
  • Psoriatic arthritis affects people with psoriasis.
  • Gout is a painful type of arthritis that happens when too much uric acid builds up in the body. It often starts in the big toe.

NIH: National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases


[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.