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Compare/N17 vs N19

N17 vs N19

N17 (Acute kidney failure) compared with N19 (Unspecified kidney failure), 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. N19 carries an Excludes1 note covering N17: “acute kidney failure (N17.-)”

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

N17Acute kidney failureN19Unspecified kidney failure
Billing statusNon-billable header

Report instead: N17.0, N17.1, N17.2, N17.8, N17.9

Billable
ClassificationN00-N99 — Diseases of the Genitourinary System (N00-N99)N00-N99 — Diseases of the Genitourinary System (N00-N99)
DefinitionAcute kidney failure is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (N17).Unspecified kidney failure is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (N19).
Includes
Uremia NOS

Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources