Coma scale, best verbal response, oriented

Not billableICD-10-CM diagnosis code.

This code exists but cannot be submitted on its own. It groups the more specific codes beneath it.

A category header for its whole life, FY2016 onwards. It has never been valid for submission on its own.

Submit one of these 5 more specific codes instead:

R40.2250 Coma scale, best verbal response, oriented, unspecified time
R40.2251 Coma scale, best verbal response, oriented, in the field [EMT or ambulance]
R40.2252 Coma scale, best verbal response, oriented, at arrival to emergency department
R40.2253 Coma scale, best verbal response, oriented, at hospital admission
R40.2254 Coma scale, best verbal response, oriented, 24 hours or more after hospital admission

What has happened to this code

Every change the publisher made, from 2014 to now. Entries marked draft are from the pre-implementation releases: ICD-10 took effect on 1 October 2015, so nothing before FY2016 was ever valid on a claim.

FY2014 Added to the draft code set draft Coma scale, best verbal response, oriented

Official coding rules

Published by CDC for FY2027. A rule attached to a category binds every code beneath it, so the rules inherited from this code's ancestors are shown with the code they come from.

Inherited from R40 Somnolence, stupor and coma

Excludes1 - never coded here

neonatal coma (P91.5)
somnolence, stupor and coma in diabetes (E08-E13)
somnolence, stupor and coma in hepatic failure (K72.-)
somnolence, stupor and coma in hypoglycemia (nondiabetic) (E15)

Inherited from the R40-R46 section Symptoms and signs involving cognition, perception, emotional state and behavior (R40-R46)

Excludes2 - not included here

symptoms and signs constituting part of a pattern of mental disorder (F01-F99)

How CDC's index refers to this code

Wording from the official alphabetic index. Much of it appears nowhere in the code description, which is why a search for the everyday phrase so often finds nothing.

Comatose
Unconscious
Symptoms NEC > involving > awareness > coma
Symptoms NEC > involving > cognitive functions > coma
Coma > with > verbal response > oriented
Coma > with > verbal response > score of > 5
Coma > with > verbal response > uses appropriate words
Coma > with > verbal response > cooing or babbling or crying appropriately

Codes in the same group

Code	Description	Status
R40.221	Coma scale, best verbal response, none	Not billable
R40.222	Coma scale, best verbal response, incomprehensible words	Not billable
R40.223	Coma scale, best verbal response, inappropriate words	Not billable
R40.224	Coma scale, best verbal response, confused conversation	Not billable