2025 ICD-10-CM code G43.7
(Valid) Effective Date: N/A Migraine - Episodic and paroxysmal disorders Diseases of the nervous system (G00-G99) Feed
Chronic migraine without aura. This condition involves frequent, severe headaches that are not preceded by visual or sensory disturbances (aura).
The medical necessity for treating chronic migraine without aura is established by the significant impact on the patient's quality of life due to the frequency and severity of the headaches.Effective treatment aims to reduce headache frequency and severity, improve function, and minimize disability.
Diagnosis and management are typically overseen by neurologists or headache specialists.Primary care physicians also play a role in initial diagnosis and ongoing care.
In simple words: Chronic migraine without aura means having a lot of bad headaches, at least 15 days a month for 3 months or more.Eight or more of these headaches are migraines.While these migraines are painful, they don't come with warning signs like seeing flashing lights or feeling tingling.
Chronic migraine without aura is characterized by headaches occurring 15 or more days per month for at least 3 months, with at least 8 of those days meeting criteria for migraine. These headaches are typically severe and recurring but are not accompanied by aura (visual or sensory phenomena that may precede migraine).However, they can include symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to light, sound, and smell.This differs from episodic migraine, which occurs less frequently.
Example 1: A 35-year-old female presents with a history of increasing headache frequency over the past year. She now experiences headaches on most days, at least 18 days per month, with 8 of those days being severe throbbing headaches associated with nausea and photophobia but no aura. After a thorough evaluation, she is diagnosed with chronic migraine without aura., A patient with a long-standing diagnosis of episodic migraine reports that their headaches have become more frequent over the last six months, occurring nearly daily. They experience migraine symptoms without aura on more than 8 days per month. Their physician diagnoses chronic migraine without aura., A 45-year-old male reports daily headaches for the past four months. He has a history of episodic migraines.Upon examination, he reports experiencing at least 8 migraine headaches per month, characterized by throbbing unilateral pain, phonophobia, nausea, and absence of aura.This aligns with the diagnostic criteria for chronic migraine without aura.
Documentation should include headache frequency, characteristics of headaches (location, quality, severity, associated symptoms), duration of chronic migraine pattern (at least three months with 15 or more headache days per month and at least 8 migraine days per month), absence of aura, and any relevant medical history or comorbidities.
** The term "transformed migraine" is an outdated term for the progression of episodic migraine to chronic migraine.
- Specialties:Neurology, Pain Management, Primary Care
- Place of Service:Office, Outpatient Hospital, Telehealth Provided in Patient’s Home, Telehealth Provided Other than in Patient’s Home