K72.9 ICD-10-CM Code: Hepatic failure, unspecified

Coding instructions

Official Tabular Instructional Notes: the inclusion, exclusion and sequencing notes published for K72.9 in the official ICD-10-CM tabular list, quoted as published.

Source: CMS/CDC — ICD-10-CM Tabular ListRelease: FY2026Effective: October 1, 2025

Notes without a marker are published on K72.9 itself; “inherited from” names the category or block whose note applies here.

Coder workflow for K72.9

MedCoder structured workflow — derived from this code’s own official record

Before you code K72.9

1. K72.9 is not reportable as written. Select the more specific code beneath it that the documentation supports. Codes are reported to the highest level of specificity the classification provides (Guidelines I.B.2).

   ReviewK72.90, K72.91

   See the relationships section · Guide: How to choose an ICD-10-CM code →

2. Unspecified does not mean incorrect. When the record gives no greater specificity, K72.9 may be the appropriate code. Check the record for detail that supports a more specific sibling — in this subcategory the siblings differ by acute versus chronic. An unspecified code is for records that do not provide the detail a more specific code needs; a query, not an assumption, is the route to specificity (Guidelines I.A.9.b, I.B.18).

   ReviewK72.0, K72.1

   See the relationships section · Guide: Other vs unspecified (NEC vs NOS) →

3. Check the Excludes1 note: if the documentation supports a condition named there, do not simply proceed with K72.9. Excludes1 conditions are not reported together with this code unless the record shows they are unrelated (Guidelines I.A.12.a).

   See the official tabular notes

Choose the right path

1. Does the documentation support one of the more specific codes beneath K72.9?
   Yes → Select that code and continue the checks below on its own page.
   No → K72.9 cannot be reported as written; query for the specificity its subcategory needs.

   ReviewK72.90, K72.91

2. Does the record document the detail a more specific sibling code needs?
   Yes → Review the specific siblings in this subcategory.
   No → Continue — K72.9 is appropriate when the documentation goes no further.

   ReviewK72.0, K72.1

3. Does the documentation support a condition named in K72.9’s Excludes1 note?
   Yes → Do not simply proceed: review the excluded code. Both are reported only when the record shows the two conditions are unrelated.
   No → Continue.

   ReviewK70.4, K71.1, K91.82, R17

Consider K72.9. Then work the Use Additional Code note, and confirm the code is valid for the date of service in the Verify section.

Documentation check

The provider’s diagnostic statement

Codes are assigned from the provider’s documented diagnosis, not from clinical criteria, test values or a medication list (Guidelines I.A.19).

Acuity

Acute or chronic as documented; when both are documented and separate codes exist, both are reported with the acute code first (Guidelines I.B.8).

The conditions the Use Additional Code note names

Reported with this code when documented; a conditional instruction (“if applicable”, “if known”) applies only when the record supports it.

Any detail beyond this code’s title

What the record states that a more specific sibling code would capture — or its absence, which itself supports the unspecified code.

Official instructions as workflow

• Excludes1 — check before selecting K72.9(5 notes)

  Coding workflow: If the documentation supports a condition named in this note, do not simply proceed with K72.9: the two are not reported together. The one exception is when the record shows the two conditions are unrelated to each other.

  CompareK70.4, K71.1, K91.82, R17

  See the official tabular notes · Guidelines I.A.12.a

• Excludes2 — not part of K72.9(7 notes)

  Coding workflow: The conditions named in this note are not included in K72.9. When the record documents both, both may be reported; the note is a boundary, not a prohibition.

  CompareO08.8, O26.6, E83.11, G93.7, E83.01

  See the official tabular notes · Guidelines I.A.12.b

• Use Additional Code — after identifying K72.9(1 note)

  Coding workflow: Check whether the documentation supports the additional code(s) the note names, and report them with K72.9 when it does. Where the instruction is conditional (“if applicable”, “if known”), it applies only when the record documents the condition.

  ReviewR18.8

  See the official tabular notes · Guidelines I.A.13

Coding decision scenarios

Pattern scenarios for this code’s structure — decision rules, not clinical cases

Every row is derived from this code’s own record — its title, tabular notes, 7th-character family and same-category siblings — with fixed MedCoder wording; nothing is inferred about a patient. The official notes and guideline text are in the sections each row links to, and they control.

Don’t confuse K72.9 with…

MedCoder analysis — pairs from this code’s official notes, distinctions written by MedCoder

The codes most likely to be picked instead of K72.9 — named in its own official notes, or sharing its laterality or encounter family — with what separates them and which documentation moves the case. Each links to the full comparison.

• K70.4— Excludes1 conflict (Excludes1 — generally not reported together)

  Not coded here — the tabular list excludes this pair for the same encounter.

  Not reported together with this code, except where the two conditions are documented as unrelated.

  What moves you there: Documentation of alcoholic hepatic failure moves the case to K70.4; the two are not reported together unless documented as unrelated.

  Full comparison: K72.9 vs K70.4 →

• K71.1— Excludes1 conflict (Excludes1 — generally not reported together)

  Not coded here — the tabular list excludes this pair for the same encounter.

  Not reported together with this code, except where the two conditions are documented as unrelated.

  What moves you there: Documentation of hepatic failure with toxic liver disease moves the case to K71.1; the two are not reported together unless documented as unrelated.

  Full comparison: K72.9 vs K71.1 →

• P55— Excludes1 conflict (Excludes1 — generally not reported together)

  Not coded here — the tabular list excludes this pair for the same encounter.

  Not reported together with this code, except where the two conditions are documented as unrelated.

  What moves you there: Documentation of icterus of newborn moves the case to P55; the two are not reported together unless documented as unrelated.

  Full comparison: K72.9 vs P55 →

• P59— Excludes1 conflict (Excludes1 — generally not reported together)

  Not coded here — the tabular list excludes this pair for the same encounter.

  Not reported together with this code, except where the two conditions are documented as unrelated.

  What moves you there: Documentation of icterus of newborn moves the case to P59; the two are not reported together unless documented as unrelated.

  Full comparison: K72.9 vs P59 →

• K91.82— Excludes1 conflict (Excludes1 — generally not reported together)

  Not coded here — the tabular list excludes this pair for the same encounter.

  Not reported together with this code, except where the two conditions are documented as unrelated.

  What moves you there: Documentation of postprocedural hepatic failure moves the case to K91.82; the two are not reported together unless documented as unrelated.

  Full comparison: K72.9 vs K91.82 →

• R17— Excludes1 conflict (Excludes1 — generally not reported together)

  Not coded here — the tabular list excludes this pair for the same encounter.

  Not reported together with this code, except where the two conditions are documented as unrelated.

  What moves you there: Documentation of jaundice NOS moves the case to R17; the two are not reported together unless documented as unrelated.

  Full comparison: K72.9 vs R17 →

Relationships are read from this code's own official notes, its laterality siblings and its encounter family; the wording of each distinction is MedCoder editorial, and the documentation named in each “what moves you there” line is the official note phrase or sibling title itself. Source: CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes; ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a.

Decision Points

The directives on this code's own record, as a pre-claim checklist.

1. 1 Use Additional Code instruction — report the named additional code(s) when the documentation supports them. See the Use Additional Code notes
2. 5 Excludes1 entries — codes named there are generally not reported together with this code (Guidelines I.A.12.a). See the Excludes1 notes
3. 7 Excludes2 entries — those conditions are not part of this code and may be reported additionally when documented. See the Excludes2 notes

Checklist rows are derived from this code's own official directives; the wording of each check is MedCoder editorial. The official notes themselves are in the sections each row links to.

Verify Before Coding

• Not billable as written — a more specific code is required: K72.90, K72.91.

From the code registry, the Medicare Code Editor, and the MS-DRG Definitions Manual. Check it against a full claim in Claim Check.

Relationships & Classification

MedCoder structured relationships — computed from published CMS and AHRQ datasets

Other codes that name K72.9 or its code family, from the CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes. Tabular-note edges are stored at the code family level that carries each note.

Referenced by 2 Excludes1 notes across 2 chapters: K76.2 — Central hemorrhagic necrosis of liver (via K72.-), R40 — Somnolence, stupor and coma (via K72.-).

These codes’ tabular lists mark this diagnosis as mutually exclusive — not reported together unless the conditions are documented as unrelated.

Referenced by 1 Use Additional Code instruction: M31.11 — Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation-associated thrombotic microangiopathy [HSCT-TMA] (via K72.-).

These codes instruct coders to additionally report this code when it applies.

Contextual Map

Every relationship of K72.9 in one view: hierarchy, official tabular instructions in both directions, clinical classification, risk adjustment, MS-DRG participation, index terms and change history — each edge carrying the CMS source it derives from.

Run K72.9 with these 3 related codes in Claim Check

Hierarchy

• K00-K95 — Chapter 11: Diseases of the Digestive System (K00-K95) (K00-K95)[Hierarchy]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• K70-K77 — Diseases of liver[Hierarchy]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026

Referenced by Excludes1 notes

• K76.2 — Central hemorrhagic necrosis of liver[Excludes1](via K72.-): “liver necrosis with hepatic failure (K72.-)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026
• R40 — Somnolence, stupor and coma[Excludes1](via K72.-): “somnolence, stupor and coma in hepatic failure (K72.-)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026

Referenced by Use Additional Code instructions

• M31.11 — Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation-associated thrombotic microangiopathy [HSCT-TMA][Use Additional Code](via K72.-): “hepatic failure (K72.-)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026

Nearest codes (9)

• K72 — Hepatic failure, not elsewhere classified[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• K72.0 — Acute and subacute hepatic failure[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• K72.00 — Acute and subacute hepatic failure without coma[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• K72.01 — Acute and subacute hepatic failure with coma[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• K72.1 — Chronic hepatic failure[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• K72.10 — Chronic hepatic failure without coma[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• K72.11 — Chronic hepatic failure with coma[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• K72.90 — Hepatic failure, unspecified without coma[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• and 1 more

Change history

• FY2016 — In the code set at ICD-10-CM adoption [Change history]— CMS release files (code change ledger) · icd10cm-fy2016

Common coding questions

Sources for this page

Codes, titles, notes, index terms and mappings on this page are transcribed from the datasets below. Relationships MedCoder computed and text MedCoder wrote are labelled where they appear.

Code, title, tabular notes and index terms Official source data

CMS/CDC ICD-10-CM FY2026 tabular list, index and tables, effective October 1, 2025 Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page

Claim edits Official source data

CMS Definitions of Medicare Code Edits — v43.1 (April 2026) Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page

Change history and date-of-service validity Official source data

CMS ICD-10-CM release addenda, ingested release by release into the change ledger Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page

Comparisons, relationships and the contextual map MedCoder structured relationship

Computed by MedCoder from the tabular notes and tables above; every derived relationship is marked as derived where it appears

Summary and FAQ answers MedCoder explanation

Written by MedCoder to explain the sources above: drafted with AI assistance, checked by a person against the release files, and labelled as MedCoder text where it appears. Not official text.

Labels on this page: Official source data · MedCoder structured relationship · MedCoder explanation. How to read the labels · All data sources and release dates

Nearest Codes in This Family

Official ICD-10-CM classifications closest to K72.9 in its code family, with their registry titles.

• K72 — Hepatic failure, not elsewhere classified
• K72.0 — Acute and subacute hepatic failure
• K72.00 — Acute and subacute hepatic failure without coma
• K72.01 — Acute and subacute hepatic failure with coma
• K72.1 — Chronic hepatic failure
• K72.10 — Chronic hepatic failure without coma
• K72.11 — Chronic hepatic failure with coma
• K72.90 — Hepatic failure, unspecified without coma
• K72.91 — Hepatic failure, unspecified with coma

View all codes in the K72 family