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N19 ICD-10-CM Code: Unspecified kidney failure

Billing Status: YES. This is a valid, specific, and billable ICD-10-CM reference.

Coding at a Glance

Tabular directives
1 inclusion term · 7 Excludes1 · 9 Excludes2

Inpatient Payment Groups (MS-DRG)

Potential MS-DRG participation — not a DRG assignment.

MS-DRGs this diagnosis helps define, as principal or secondary, per the CMS ICD-10-CM/PCS MS-DRG Definitions Manual v43, Appendix B.

  • MS-DRG 673 — OTHER KIDNEY AND URINARY TRACT PROCEDURES WITH MCC (MDC 11)
  • MS-DRG 674 — OTHER KIDNEY AND URINARY TRACT PROCEDURES WITH CC (MDC 11)
  • MS-DRG 675 — OTHER KIDNEY AND URINARY TRACT PROCEDURES WITHOUT CC/MCC (MDC 11)
  • MS-DRG 682 — RENAL FAILURE WITH MCC (MDC 11)
  • MS-DRG 683 — RENAL FAILURE WITH CC (MDC 11)
  • MS-DRG 684 — RENAL FAILURE WITHOUT CC/MCC (MDC 11)

A diagnosis appearing in a group's logic does not by itself determine the DRG assigned to a stay; the grouper uses the full claim.

Coding instructions

Official Tabular Instructional Notes: the inclusion, exclusion and sequencing notes published for N19 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 N19 itself; “inherited from” names the category or block whose note applies here.

Inclusion Terms

Alternative terms the tabular list files under this code.

  • Uremia NOS

Excludes1 — Not Coded Here

Conditions generally not reported together with this code (Excludes1) -- an error unless the two conditions are documented as unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).

Excludes2 — Not Included Here

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

Source: inherited from N17-N19

Coder workflow for N19

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

Before you code N19

  1. Unspecified does not mean incorrect. When the record gives no greater specificity, N19 may be the appropriate code. Check the record for detail that supports a more specific sibling. 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).

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

  2. Check the Excludes1 note: if the documentation supports a condition named there, do not simply proceed with N19. 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 record document the detail a more specific sibling code needs?
    Yes → Review the specific siblings in this subcategory.
    No → Continue — N19 is appropriate when the documentation goes no further.
  2. Does the documentation support a condition named in N19’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.

    ReviewN17, N18, N18.9, R39.2, N28.9, P96.0

Consider N19. 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).
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 N19(7 notes)

    Coding workflow: If the documentation supports a condition named in this note, do not simply proceed with N19: the two are not reported together. The one exception is when the record shows the two conditions are unrelated to each other.

    CompareN17, N18, N18.9, R39.2, N28.9, P96.0

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

  • Excludes2 — not part of N19(9 notes)

    Coding workflow: The conditions named in this note are not included in N19. When the record documents both, both may be reported; the note is a boundary, not a prohibition.

    CompareP96.0, N14, D59.3, K76.7, O90.41, T79.5

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

Coding decision scenarios

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

Documentation: The provider documents the condition in the terms of this code’s title and records no further detail.

Coding question: Is a more specific sibling code supportable?

Path: Review the subcategory for a sibling that names the missing detail.

Reason: A more specific code needs documentation of the distinguishing element; without it the unspecified code is appropriate, and a provider query is the route to specificity (Guidelines I.A.9.b, I.B.18).

Documentation: Both the condition N19 describes and a condition named in its Excludes1 note are documented for the same encounter.

Coding question: Can both codes be reported?

Path: Review the Excludes1 note and the excluded code, and look for a provider statement on whether the two conditions are related.

Reason: Excludes1 means the two are not coded together; the exception is when the record shows the conditions are unrelated to each other (Guidelines I.A.12.a).

ReviewN17, N18, N18.9, R39.2, N28.9, P96.0

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.

Code Overview

Unspecified kidney failure is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (N19).

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

Indexed Clinical Terms (6)

Official source data — entries quoted as published, in the Index’s own lookup phrasing

Clinical term phrases from the official ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries that map to this code. These are alphabetic-index entries shown as the Index writes them — lookup phrasing, not necessarily the wording of a final diagnosis.

Verify Before Coding

  • No Medicare Code Editor or MS-DRG Definitions Manual restrictions apply to this code.

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 N19 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 Excludes1 note: R39.2 — Extrarenal uremia.

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

Referenced by 10 Code Also instructions: N00 — Acute nephritic syndrome, N00-N08 — Glomerular diseases (N00-N08), N01 — Rapidly progressive nephritic syndrome, N02 — Recurrent and persistent hematuria, N03 — Chronic nephritic syndrome, N04 — Nephrotic syndrome, N05 — Unspecified nephritic syndrome, N06 — Isolated proteinuria with specified morphological lesion, N07 — Hereditary nephropathy, not elsewhere classified, N08 — Glomerular disorders in diseases classified elsewhere.

These codes suggest coding this condition alongside when both are present.

MS-DRG Grouper Relationships (FY2026)

Potential MS-DRG participation — not a DRG assignment.

FY2026 MS-DRG: not on the CMS CC/MCC list — as a secondary diagnosis this code does not change MS-DRG severity for that release.

Named in the grouper logic of 6 MS-DRGs: DRG 673 (MDC 11), DRG 674 (MDC 11), DRG 675 (MDC 11), DRG 682 (MDC 11), DRG 683 (MDC 11), DRG 684 (MDC 11).

From the CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual (Appendices B and C). Actual DRG assignment depends on the complete claim.

Clinical classification (AHRQ CCSR):GEN002 — Acute and unspecified renal failure (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 (Acute and unspecified renal failure).

K76.7 — Hepatorenal syndrome, K91.83 — Postprocedural hepatorenal syndrome, N17.0 — Acute kidney failure with tubular necrosis, N17.1 — Acute kidney failure with acute cortical necrosis, N17.2 — Acute kidney failure with medullary necrosis, N17.8 — Other acute kidney failure, N17.9 — Acute kidney failure, unspecified, N99.0 — Postprocedural (acute) (chronic) kidney failure, O90.4 — Postpartum acute kidney failure, O90.41 — Hepatorenal syndrome following labor and delivery, O90.49 — Other postpartum acute kidney failure

Same Index main term, other category

The ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries files this code under the main terms “Failure, failed”, “Uremia, uremic”, “Stasis”; these codes share that main term but sit in a different category of the Tabular List.

M27.62 — Post-osseointegration biological failure of dental implant (dental implant, due to, occlusal trauma), M27.63 — Post-osseointegration mechanical failure of dental implant (dental implant, post-osseointegration, mechanical), M27.69 — Other endosseous dental implant failure (dental implant), N17.0 — Acute kidney failure with tubular necrosis (renal, tubular), N17.1 — Acute kidney failure with acute cortical necrosis (renal, acute, with, cortical necrosis), N17.2 — Acute kidney failure with medullary necrosis (renal, acute, with, medullary necrosis), N17.8 — Other acute kidney failure (renal, acute, specified NEC), N17.9 — Acute kidney failure, unspecified (renal, acute), N18.6 — End stage renal disease (renal, end stage), N18.9 — Chronic kidney disease, unspecified (chronic NOS), N52.9 — Male erectile dysfunction, unspecified (erection), N91.0 — Primary amenorrhea (menstruation at puberty), N97.0 — Female infertility associated with anovulation (ovulation causing infertility), N99.0 — Postprocedural (acute) (chronic) kidney failure (renal, postprocedural), N99.89 — Other postprocedural complications and disorders of genitourinary system (vasectomy), O08.4 — Renal failure following ectopic and molar pregnancy (with, ectopic or molar pregnancy), O29.12 — Cardiac failure due to anesthesia during pregnancy (heart, complicating, anesthesiaor other sedation, in pregnancy), O29.6 — Failed or difficult intubation for anesthesia during pregnancy (intubation during anesthesia, in pregnancy), O32.4 — Maternal care for high head at term (descent of head), O61.0 — Failed medical induction of labor (induction, medical), +142 more

Lab tests where this diagnosis supports Medicare coverage (NCD)

Medicare's National Coverage Determination (NCD) program lists this diagnosis as medical justification for these lab tests.

Gamma-glutamyl Transferase (GGT) Test, Iron Panel, Partial Thromboplastin Time (PTT) Test, Prothrombin Time Test and INR (PT/INR)

Contextual Map

Every relationship of N19 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 N19 with these 22 related codes in Claim Check

Hierarchy

Excludes1

Excludes2 (14)

Referenced by Excludes1 notes

Referenced by Code Also instructions (10)

Clinical classification (CCSR)

MS-DRG Grouper

MDC crossing

  • MDC 11 — Diseases and Disorders of the Kidney and Urinary Tract[MDC crossing]: “Diseases and Disorders of the Kidney and Urinary Tract — the grouper's crossing between diagnoses and procedures: a principal diagnosis sets the MDC, and same-MDC procedures move the stay to its surgical DRGs. 3,574 same-MDC procedures group here; browse them on the MDC page.”— CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual · FY2026

Index entries

  • Azotemia, meaning uremia[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Failure, failed, kidney[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Failure, failed, renal[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Stasis, kidney[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Stasis, renal[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Uremia, uremic[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026

Change history

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

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
Inpatient payment groups Official source data
CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual (incl. Appendix B diagnosis index, Appendix C CC/MCC list, Appendix E procedure index) and IPPS Final Rule tables — v43 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

Change history

  • FY2016 — October 1, 2015
    In the code set at ICD-10-CM adoption
    Unspecified kidney failure

No changes since FY2016 — additions, deletions, description changes and billable-status changes are tracked through FY2027 (effective October 1, 2026), and none are recorded for this code. Note changes are tracked from FY2027 only.