K71.51 vs R18
K71.51 (Toxic liver disease with chronic active hepatitis with ascites) compared with R18 (Ascites), from the official CMS tabular data. Do not report these codes together: the official tabular list marks them Excludes1.
Can these codes be reported together?
No — do not report together. R18 carries an Excludes1 note covering K71.51: “ascites in toxic liver disease with chronic active hepatitis (K71.51)”
Sole exception: when the two conditions are documented as unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).
Side by side
| K71.51Toxic liver disease with chronic active hepatitis with ascites | R18Ascites | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing status | Billable | Non-billable header |
| Classification | K00-K95 — Diseases of the Digestive System (K00-K95) | R00-R99 — Symptoms, Signs and Abnormal Clinical and Laboratory Findings, Not Elsewhere Classified (R00-R99) |
| Definition | Toxic liver disease with chronic active hepatitis with ascites is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (K71.51). | Ascites is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (R18). |
| Includes | drug-induced idiosyncratic (unpredictable) liver disease drug-induced toxic (predictable) liver disease | fluid in peritoneal cavity |
| Use additional code | code for adverse effect, if applicable, to identify drug (T36-T50 with fifth or sixth character 5) | — |
| Code first | poisoning due to drug or toxin, if applicable (T36-T65 with fifth or sixth character 1-4) | — |
Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources