2025 ICD-10-CM code A98
Other viral hemorrhagic fevers not elsewhere classified.
Medical necessity for using A98 is established when a patient presents with clinical signs and symptoms consistent with VHF, but other specific VHF diagnoses have been excluded through appropriate testing and differential diagnosis.
Clinicians diagnose VHF based on patient exposure history, physical examination, and symptoms like weakness, high fever, nausea, vomiting, headache, abdominal pain, diarrhea, joint and muscle pain. Severe cases may present with delirium, rash, internal and external bleeding, organ failure, shock, sepsis, and potentially death. Diagnostic tests include RT-PCR, ELISA, and blood cultures. Treatment involves antiviral medication (ribavirin), electrolyte replacement, and oxygen support.
In simple words: This code represents a rare type of viral infection that causes fever and bleeding, spread by insect bites, and not covered by other, more specific diagnoses.
This code encompasses viral hemorrhagic fevers (VHF) not classified under other categories. VHFs are a group of viral illnesses characterized by fever and bleeding, often transmitted through infected mosquitoes or ticks.
Example 1: A patient presents with high fever, muscle pain, and bleeding after a recent trip to a region known for mosquito-borne illnesses. After ruling out other VHFs, the physician diagnoses the patient with an unspecified viral hemorrhagic fever (A98)., A patient develops symptoms of VHF after a tick bite. Laboratory tests are inconclusive for known VHFs, leading to a diagnosis of other viral hemorrhagic fever (A98)., A patient exhibits severe VHF symptoms, including organ damage, despite receiving treatment for a presumed different diagnosis. Further investigation reveals an uncommon VHF not captured by existing codes, necessitating the use of A98.
Documentation should include details about exposure history (e.g., travel, insect bites), symptoms, physical findings, laboratory results (RT-PCR, ELISA, blood cultures), and differential diagnosis ruling out other VHFs.
- Specialties:Infectious Disease, Internal Medicine, Critical Care, Emergency Medicine, Travel Medicine.
- Place of Service:Inpatient Hospital, Emergency Room - Hospital, Office, Independent Clinic.