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K85.2 ICD-10-CM Code: Alcohol induced acute pancreatitis

Billing Status: NO. This is a non-billable ICD-10-CM code: report a more specific billable code beneath it.

Coding at a Glance

Tabular directives
2 inclusion terms · 1 Excludes2

Coding instructions

Official Tabular Instructional Notes: the inclusion, exclusion and sequencing notes published for K85.2 in the official ICD-10-CM tabular list, quoted as published.

Source: CMS/CDC — ICD-10-CM Tabular ListRelease: FY2027Effective: October 1, 2026

Trace:FY2027 changesChange historyRelease, file and checksum

Notes without a marker are published on K85.2 itself; “inherited from” names the category or block whose note applies here.

Includes

Conditions the official ICD-10-CM tabular list includes under this code.

  • acute (recurrent) pancreatitis
  • subacute pancreatitis

Source: inherited from K85

Excludes2 — Not Included Here

Conditions not covered by this code, but which may be reported alongside it when both are present.

Coder workflow for K85.2

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

Before you code K85.2

  1. K85.2 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).

    ReviewK85.20, K85.21, K85.22

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

Choose the right path

  1. Does the documentation support one of the more specific codes beneath K85.2?
    Yes → Select that code and continue the checks below on its own page.
    No → K85.2 cannot be reported as written; query for the specificity its subcategory needs.

    ReviewK85.20, K85.21, K85.22

Consider K85.2. Then 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).

Official instructions as workflow

  • Excludes2 — not part of K85.2(1 note)

    Coding workflow: The conditions named in this note are not included in K85.2. When the record documents both, both may be reported; the note is a boundary, not a prohibition.

    CompareK86.0

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

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 K85.2 with…

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

The codes most likely to be picked instead of K85.2 — 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.

  • K85.9— Specificity relationship (Review)

    Overlapping diagnoses in the same category.

    Overlapping codes in the same category — the documentation decides which is the more specific fit.

    What moves you there: A record that documents no more than “Acute pancreatitis, unspecified” takes K85.9; specificity in the record moves it back here.

    Full comparison: K85.2 vs K85.9 →

  • K86.0— Excludes2 relationship (Informational)

    Distinct conditions — both may be reported.

    A distinct condition — both may be reported when both are documented.

    What moves you there: Documentation of alcohol induced chronic pancreatitis adds K86.0; it is not part of this code and both may be reported when both are documented.

    Full comparison: K85.2 vs K86.0 →

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.

Code Overview

Alcohol induced acute pancreatitis is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (K85.2). A more specific billable subcode must be selected for claims submission.

MedCoder summary Summary composed by MedCoder from this code's official ICD-10-CM record. The tabular instructional notes themselves appear verbatim below.

Official Coding Guidelines

Official source data — quoted verbatim from the CMS/NCHS Official Guidelines

Official source data — quoted verbatim from the CMS/NCHS Official Guidelines

Verbatim excerpts from the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting (CMS/NCHS) that govern this code.

Chapter 5: Mental, Behavioral and Neurodevelopmental disorders (F01 – F99)

4) Medical Conditions Due to Psychoactive Substance Use, Abuse and Dependence Medical conditions due to substance use, abuse, and dependence are not classified as substance-induced disorders. Assign the diagnosis code for the medical condition as directed by the Alphabetical Index along with the appropriate psychoactive substance use, abuse or dependence code. For example, for alcoholic pancreatitis due to alcohol dependence, assign the appropriate code from subcategory K85.2, Alcohol induced acute pancreatitis, and the appropriate code from subcategory F10.2, such as code F10.20, Alcohol dependence, uncomplicated. It would not be appropriate to assign code F10.288, Alcohol dependence with other alcohol-induced disorder.

Verify Before Coding

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 K85.2 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 1 Excludes2 note: K86.0 — Alcohol-induced chronic pancreatitis.

These codes’ tabular lists name this diagnosis as distinct — both may be reported when both are documented.

Referenced by 1 Code First instruction: E08 — Diabetes mellitus due to underlying condition (via K85.-).

Each of these codes carries a Code First note naming this condition — when that code is reported, THIS code is sequenced first, ahead of it.

Clinical classification (AHRQ CCSR):DIG020 — Pancreatic disorders (excluding diabetes) (default).

Clinical Classifications Software Refined (CCSR) for ICD-10-CM Diagnoses. Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Related Codes

Same clinical category (CCSR)

AHRQ's Clinical Classifications Software groups these diagnoses under the same clinical category (Pancreatic disorders (excluding diabetes)).

B25.2 — Cytomegaloviral pancreatitis, B26.3 — Mumps pancreatitis, K85.0 — Idiopathic acute pancreatitis, K85.00 — Idiopathic acute pancreatitis without necrosis or infection, K85.01 — Idiopathic acute pancreatitis with uninfected necrosis, K85.02 — Idiopathic acute pancreatitis with infected necrosis, K85.1 — Biliary acute pancreatitis, K85.10 — Biliary acute pancreatitis without necrosis or infection, K85.11 — Biliary acute pancreatitis with uninfected necrosis, K85.12 — Biliary acute pancreatitis with infected necrosis, K85.20 — Alcohol induced acute pancreatitis without necrosis or infection, K85.21 — Alcohol induced acute pancreatitis with uninfected necrosis, K85.22 — Alcohol induced acute pancreatitis with infected necrosis, K85.3 — Drug induced acute pancreatitis, K85.30 — Drug induced acute pancreatitis without necrosis or infection, K85.31 — Drug induced acute pancreatitis with uninfected necrosis, K85.32 — Drug induced acute pancreatitis with infected necrosis, K85.8 — Other acute pancreatitis, K85.80 — Other acute pancreatitis without necrosis or infection, K85.81 — Other acute pancreatitis with uninfected necrosis, +14 more

Contextual Map

Every relationship of K85.2 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 K85.2 with these 2 related codes in Claim Check

Hierarchy

Excludes2

Referenced by Excludes2 notes

Referenced by Code First instructions

Clinical classification (CCSR)

Nearest codes (24)

Change history (2)

Common coding questions

Can K85.2 be billed directly?

No. K85.2 (Alcohol induced acute pancreatitis) is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code. A more specific billable subcode must be selected based on clinical documentation.

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 FY2027 tabular list, index and tables, effective October 1, 2026 Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Coding guidelines Official source data
ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting (FY2027), quoted by section Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Claim edits Official source data
CMS Definitions of Medicare Code Edits — v44.0 (October 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

Cite this page

Reference this page in a research guide, syllabus or article. The release is included because code content changes each year.

MedCoder.ai. "K85.2 — Alcohol induced acute pancreatitis." ICD-10-CM FY2027. https://medcoder.ai/icd10/code/k85.2-alcohol-induced-acute-pancreatitis

Change history

  • FY2017 — October 1, 2016
    Became a non-billable header
    FY2017 changes
  • FY2016 — October 1, 2015
    In the code set at ICD-10-CM adoption
    Alcohol induced acute pancreatitis

Nearest Codes in This Family

Official ICD-10-CM classifications closest to K85.2 in its code family, with their registry titles.

View all codes in the K85 family