Skip to main content

N23 vs R10.83

N23 (Unspecified renal colic) compared with R10.83 (Colic), from the official CMS tabular data.

Summary

These codes should not be reported together because R10.83’s tabular entry lists N23 under Excludes1.

Official rule
What is different?

The conditions named and chapter.N23 is “Unspecified renal colic”; R10.83 is “Colic”. N23 sits in N00-N99 — Diseases of the Genitourinary System (N00-N99); R10.83 in R00-R99 — Symptoms, Signs and Abnormal Clinical and Laboratory Findings, Not Elsewhere Classified (R00-R99).

Registry fact

Can these codes be reported together?

No.R10.83’s entry carries an Excludes1 note covering N23: “renal colic (N23)”. Both may be reported only when the documentation shows the two conditions are unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).

Official ruleGuide: Excludes1 vs Excludes2

Is there an Excludes1 relationship?

Yes.R10.83’s tabular entry: “renal colic (N23)”. The note covers N23.

Official ruleGuide: Excludes1 vs Excludes2

Is there an Excludes2 relationship?

None.Neither entry carries an Excludes2 note that names the other code. R10.83 carries 12 Excludes2 notes covering other codes; the side-by-side table quotes them.

Official rule

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?

Excludes1 — generally not reported together

Excludes1 conflict

R10.83
Colic
↔
N23
Unspecified renal colic

What we found

No — do not report together.R10.83 carries an Excludes1 note covering N23: “renal colic (N23)”

Sole exception: when the two conditions are documented as unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).

What to review

Report one of the two. Both may be reported only when the documentation shows the two conditions are unrelated to each other.

Guide: Excludes1 vs Excludes2Check these on a claim

Why it matters

An Excludes1 note means the two conditions are not ordinarily reported together for the same encounter, because the classification treats them as mutually exclusive forms of the same condition. The documented exception is when the two conditions are unrelated to each other.

Source / rule

CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes; ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a

Official guidance behind these answers

  • Section I.A.12.a — Excludes1 · applies to: Excludes1

    A type 1 Excludes note is a pure excludes note. It means “NOT CODED HERE!” An Excludes1 note indicates that the code excluded should never be used at the same time as the code above the Excludes1 note. An Excludes1 is used when two conditions cannot occur together, such as a congenital form versus an acquired form of the same condition. An exception to the Excludes1 definition is the circumstance when the two conditions are unrelated to each other. If it is not clear whether the two conditions involving an Excludes1 note are related or not, query the provider. For example, code F45.8, Other somatoform disorders, has an Excludes1 note for "sleep related teeth grinding (G47.63)," because "teeth grinding" is an inclusion term under F45.8. Only one of these two codes should be assigned for teeth grinding. However psychogenic dysmenorrhea is also an inclusion term under F45.8, and a patient could have both this condition and sleep related teeth grinding. In this case, the two conditions are clearly unrelated to each other, and so it would be appropriate to report F45.8 and G47.63 together.

    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

N23Unspecified renal colicR10.83Colic
Billing statusBillableBillable
ClassificationN00-N99 — Diseases of the Genitourinary System (N00-N99)R00-R99 — Symptoms, Signs and Abnormal Clinical and Laboratory Findings, Not Elsewhere Classified (R00-R99)
DefinitionUnspecified renal colic is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (N23).Colic is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (R10.83).
Includes—
Colic NOS
Infantile colic
Excludes1—
colic in adult and child over 12 months old (R10.84)
renal colic (N23)
Excludes2—
costovertebral (angle) tenderness (R39.85)
dorsalgia (M54.-)
flatulence and related conditions (R14.-)
congenital or infantile pylorospasm (Q40.0)
gastrointestinal hemorrhage (K92.0-K92.2)
intestinal obstruction (K56.-)
newborn gastrointestinal hemorrhage (P54.0-P54.3)
newborn intestinal obstruction (P76.-)
pylorospasm (K31.3)
signs and symptoms involving the urinary system (R30-R39)
symptoms referable to female genital organs (N94.-)
symptoms referable to male genital organs (N48-N50)

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.

Edit this comparisonCheck a whole claim

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