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K76.82 vs Q44.6

K76.82 (Hepatic encephalopathy) compared with Q44.6 (Cystic disease of liver), from the official CMS tabular data.

Summary

These codes can be reported together when both conditions are documented, because K76.82 lists Q44.6 under Excludes2, which marks them as distinct conditions.

Official rule
What is different?

The conditions named and chapter.K76.82 is “Hepatic encephalopathy”; Q44.6 is “Cystic disease of liver”. K76.82 sits in K00-K95 — Diseases of the Digestive System (K00-K95); Q44.6 in Q00-QA1 — Congenital Malformations, Deformations and Chromosomal Abnormalities (Q00-QA1).

Registry fact

Can these codes be reported together?

Yes, when both are documented.K76.82 lists Q44.6 under Excludes2: “cystic disease of liver (congenital) (Q44.6)”. Excludes2 marks distinct conditions that may both be reported when both are documented.

Official ruleGuide: Excludes1 vs Excludes2

Is there an Excludes1 relationship?

None.Neither entry carries an Excludes1 note that names the other code. K76.82 carries 5 Excludes1 notes covering other codes; the side-by-side table quotes them.

Official rule

Is there an Excludes2 relationship?

Yes.K76.82’s tabular entry: “cystic disease of liver (congenital) (Q44.6)”. The note covers Q44.6.

Official ruleGuide: Excludes1 vs Excludes2

Is one more specific?

Not comparable.The codes sit in different categories; specificity is only comparable within one category.

Is one a parent or header code?

No.Both are billable codes, and neither contains the other.

Registry fact

Are there sequencing instructions?

None.Neither entry carries a Code First or Use Additional Code note that names the other.

Official rule

Are there other coding relationships?

None found.No laterality, encounter-phase, Table of Neoplasms, Table of Drugs and Chemicals, or history-versus-active-disease relationship links these codes.

MedCoder-derived

Official rule: a tabular instructional note or a section of the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, quoted as published. Registry fact: the codes’ own published attributes (titles, billable status, position in the hierarchy, code set). MedCoder-derived: a reading MedCoder computes from those facts; it is not itself a rule. How to read the labels

Can these codes be reported together?

Informational

Excludes2 relationship

K76.82
Hepatic encephalopathy
↔
Q44.6
Cystic disease of liver

What we found

Yes, when both are documented.K76.82 carries an Excludes2 note covering Q44.6: “cystic disease of liver (congenital) (Q44.6)”

Excludes2 marks distinct conditions — both may be reported when both are documented.

What to review

Report both only when the documentation supports both conditions; otherwise report the one documented.

Guide: Excludes1 vs Excludes2Check these on a claim

Why it matters

An Excludes2 note means the excluded condition is not part of the code above it, but a patient can have both. Report both when both are documented.

Source / rule

CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes

Official guidance behind these answers

  • Section I.A.12.b — Excludes2 · applies to: Excludes2

    A type 2 Excludes note represents “Not included here.” An excludes2 note indicates that the condition excluded is not part of the condition represented by the code, but a patient may have both conditions at the same time. When an Excludes2 note appears under a code, it is acceptable to use both the code and the excluded code together, when appropriate.

    ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines FY2026

Quoted from the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting in effect for the release shown. The tabular notes above are the code-level instruction; these sections are the convention that says how such a note is applied. Source document (CMS PDF) · Release and checksum

Side by side

K76.82Hepatic encephalopathyQ44.6Cystic disease of liver
Billing statusBillableBillable
ClassificationK00-K95 — Diseases of the Digestive System (K00-K95)Q00-QA1 — Congenital Malformations, Deformations and Chromosomal Abnormalities (Q00-QA1)
DefinitionHepatic encephalopathy is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (K76.82).Cystic disease of liver is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (Q44.6).
Includes
Hepatic encephalopathy, NOS
Hepatic encephalopathy without coma
Hepatocerebral intoxication
Portal-systemic encephalopathy
Fibrocystic disease of liver
Excludes1
acute and subacute hepatic failure with coma (K72.01)
alcoholic hepatic failure with coma (K70.41)
chronic hepatic failure with coma (K72.11)
hepatic failure with coma (K72.91)
jaundice NOS (R17)
—
Excludes2
alcoholic liver disease (K70.-)
amyloid degeneration of liver (E85.-)
cystic disease of liver (congenital) (Q44.6)
hepatic vein thrombosis (I82.0)
hepatomegaly NOS (R16.0)
pigmentary cirrhosis (of liver) (E83.110)
portal vein thrombosis (I81)
toxic liver disease (K71.-)
hemochromatosis (E83.11-)
Reye's syndrome (G93.7)
viral hepatitis (B15-B19)
Wilson's disease (E83.01)
—
Code also
underlying liver disease, such as:
acute and subacute hepatic failure without coma (K72.00)
alcoholic hepatic failure without coma (K70.40)
chronic hepatic failure without coma (K72.10)
hepatic failure with toxic liver disease without coma (K71.10)
hepatic failure without coma (K72.90)
icterus of newborn (P55-P59)
postprocedural hepatic failure (K91.82)
viral hepatitis without hepatic coma (B15.9, B16.1, B16.9, B17.10, B19.10, B19.20, B19.9)
—

Notes are the code’s own tabular entry, quoted as published. A note that names the other code is the one the verdict above rests on.

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Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2027). A coding-rule comparison, not billing advice: payer-specific edits and medical-necessity policy are outside its scope. All data sources