K85.8 ICD-10-CM Code: Other acute pancreatitis

Coding instructions

Official Tabular Instructional Notes: the inclusion, exclusion and sequencing notes published for K85.8 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 K85.8 itself; “inherited from” names the category or block whose note applies here.

Coder workflow for K85.8

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

Before you code K85.8

1. K85.8 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).

   ReviewK85.80, K85.81, K85.82

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

2. “Other” (NEC) means the condition is specified in the record but no dedicated code captures it. Confirm the documented form is not one a sibling code names before settling on K85.8; if the record states no specifics at all, the unspecified sibling applies instead. “Other” codes are for documented conditions the classification gives no specific code; “unspecified” codes are for records lacking the detail (Guidelines I.A.9.a, I.A.9.b).

   ReviewK85.0, K85.1, K85.2, K85.3

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

Choose the right path

1. Does the documentation support one of the more specific codes beneath K85.8?
   Yes → Select that code and continue the checks below on its own page.
   No → K85.8 cannot be reported as written; query for the specificity its subcategory needs.

   ReviewK85.80, K85.81, K85.82

Consider K85.8. 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).

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.

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 K85.8 with…

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

The codes most likely to be picked instead of K85.8 — 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: K85.8 vs K85.9 →

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.

Verify Before Coding

• Not billable as written — a more specific code is required: K85.80, K85.81, K85.82.

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 K85.8 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 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)).

K85.11 — Biliary acute pancreatitis with uninfected necrosis, K85.12 — Biliary acute pancreatitis with infected necrosis, K85.2 — Alcohol induced acute pancreatitis, 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, K85.80 — Other acute pancreatitis without necrosis or infection, K85.81 — Other acute pancreatitis with uninfected necrosis, K85.82 — Other acute pancreatitis with infected necrosis, K85.9 — Acute pancreatitis, unspecified, K85.90 — Acute pancreatitis without necrosis or infection, unspecified, K85.91 — Acute pancreatitis with uninfected necrosis, unspecified, K85.92 — Acute pancreatitis with infected necrosis, unspecified, K86.0 — Alcohol-induced chronic pancreatitis, K86.1 — Other chronic pancreatitis, K86.2 — Cyst of pancreas, +14 more

Contextual Map

Every relationship of K85.8 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 K85.8 with this related code 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
• K80-K87 — Disorders of gallbladder, biliary tract and pancreas[Hierarchy]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026

Referenced by Code First instructions

• E08 — Diabetes mellitus due to underlying condition[Code First](via K85.-): “pancreatitis and other diseases of the pancreas (K85-K86.-)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026

Clinical classification (CCSR)

• DIG020 — Pancreatic disorders (excluding diabetes)[CCSR]— AHRQ CCSR for ICD-10-CM Diagnoses (HCUP)

Nearest codes (24)

• K85 — Acute pancreatitis[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• K85.0 — Idiopathic acute pancreatitis[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• K85.00 — Idiopathic acute pancreatitis without necrosis or infection[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• K85.01 — Idiopathic acute pancreatitis with uninfected necrosis[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• K85.02 — Idiopathic acute pancreatitis with infected necrosis[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• K85.1 — Biliary acute pancreatitis[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• K85.10 — Biliary acute pancreatitis without necrosis or infection[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• K85.11 — Biliary acute pancreatitis with uninfected necrosis[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• and 16 more

Change history (2)

• FY2017 — Became a non-billable header[Change history]— CMS release files (code change ledger) · icd10cm-fy2017
• and 1 more

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 K85.8 in its code family, with their registry titles.

• 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
• K85.80 — Other acute pancreatitis without necrosis or infection
• K85.81 — Other acute pancreatitis with uninfected necrosis
• K85.82 — Other acute pancreatitis with infected necrosis
• K85.9 — Acute pancreatitis, unspecified
• K85.90 — Acute pancreatitis without necrosis or infection, unspecified

View all codes in the K85 family