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R29.1 ICD-10-CM Code: Meningismus

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

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 091 — OTHER DISORDERS OF NERVOUS SYSTEM WITH MCC (MDC 01)
  • MS-DRG 092 — OTHER DISORDERS OF NERVOUS SYSTEM WITH CC (MDC 01)
  • MS-DRG 093 — OTHER DISORDERS OF NERVOUS SYSTEM WITHOUT CC/MCC (MDC 01)

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.

Coder workflow for R29.1

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

Before you code R29.1

  1. Check whether an established diagnosis that explains this sign or symptom is documented. If one is, review whether the documented diagnosis changes the coding pathway: a symptom that is integral to a confirmed diagnosis is not reported separately, while one not routinely associated with it may be. Signs and symptoms are reported when no definitive diagnosis is established (Guidelines I.B.4, I.B.5, I.B.6, I.C.18.b).

    Guide: Symptom code vs confirmed diagnosis →

Choose the right path

  1. Is an established diagnosis that explains this sign or symptom documented?
    Yes → Review whether the documented diagnosis changes the coding pathway: a symptom integral to it is not reported separately.
    No → Continue — the sign or symptom code stands when no definitive diagnosis is established.

Consider R29.1. 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).

Coding decision scenarios

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

Documentation: The sign or symptom is documented, and the same record establishes a diagnosis that routinely includes it.

Coding question: Is R29.1 reported in addition to the diagnosis?

Path: Review the documented diagnosis and whether the classification treats this finding as integral to it.

Reason: Signs and symptoms integral to a confirmed diagnosis are not coded separately; those not routinely associated with it may be reported when present (Guidelines I.B.5, I.B.6, I.C.18.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.

Code Overview

Meningismus is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (R29.1).

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

  • CC as a secondary diagnosis (FY2026). Can raise the stay's MS-DRG severity tier.

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

MS-DRG Grouper Relationships (FY2026)

Potential MS-DRG participation — not a DRG assignment.

FY2026 MS-DRG: CC — Complication or Comorbidity. Reported as a secondary diagnosis, this code raises the stay's MS-DRG severity tier — except when the principal diagnosis is one of 2 clinically related codes on its CMS exclusion list.

Named in the grouper logic of 3 MS-DRGs: DRG 091 (MDC 01), DRG 092 (MDC 01), DRG 093 (MDC 01).

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

Clinical classification (AHRQ CCSR):SYM010 — Nervous system signs and symptoms (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 process (MS-DRG)

Acts as CC — raises the severity of other admissions. CMS groups these diagnoses into one MS-DRG principal-diagnosis exclusion process — a CC/MCC on this list never raises severity when the principal diagnosis is also on it.

R29.810 — Facial weakness

Same clinical category (CCSR)

AHRQ's Clinical Classifications Software groups these diagnoses under the same clinical category (Nervous system signs and symptoms).

R26.0 — Ataxic gait, R26.1 — Paralytic gait, R26.2 — Difficulty in walking, not elsewhere classified, R26.81 — Unsteadiness on feet, R26.89 — Other abnormalities of gait and mobility, R26.9 — Unspecified abnormalities of gait and mobility, R27.0 — Ataxia, unspecified, R27.8 — Other lack of coordination, R27.9 — Unspecified lack of coordination, R29.0 — Tetany, R29.2 — Abnormal reflex, R29.5 — Transient paralysis, R29.810 — Facial weakness, R29.818 — Other symptoms and signs involving the nervous system, R29.90 — Unspecified symptoms and signs involving the nervous system, R40.2110 — Coma scale, eyes open, never, unspecified time, R40.2111 — Coma scale, eyes open, never, in the field [EMT or ambulance], R40.2112 — Coma scale, eyes open, never, at arrival to emergency department, R40.2113 — Coma scale, eyes open, never, at hospital admission, R40.2114 — Coma scale, eyes open, never, 24 hours or more after hospital admission, +138 more

Same Index main term, other category

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

N89.6 — Tight hymenal ring (hymen), Q68.8 — Other specified congenital musculoskeletal deformities (articular, multiple, congenital), R10.0 — Acute abdomen (abdominal, with severe abdominal pain), R19.30 — Abdominal rigidity, unspecified site (abdominal), R19.31 — Right upper quadrant abdominal rigidity (abdominal, right upper quadrant), R19.32 — Left upper quadrant abdominal rigidity (abdominal, left upper quadrant), R19.33 — Right lower quadrant abdominal rigidity (abdominal, right lower quadrant), R19.34 — Left lower quadrant abdominal rigidity (abdominal, left lower quadrant), R19.35 — Periumbilic abdominal rigidity (abdominal, periumbilic), R19.36 — Epigastric abdominal rigidity (abdominal, epigastric), R19.37 — Generalized abdominal rigidity (abdominal, generalized)

Contextual Map

Every relationship of R29.1 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.

Hierarchy

Clinical classification (CCSR)

MS-DRG Grouper

MDC crossing

  • MDC 01 — Diseases and Disorders of the Nervous System[MDC crossing]: “Diseases and Disorders of the Nervous System — 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. 8,892 same-MDC procedures group here; browse them on the MDC page.”— CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual · FY2026

Index entries

  • Disease, diseased, Dupré's (meningism)[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Dupré's disease (meningism)[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Meningismus (infectional) (pneumococcal)[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Meningismus (infectional) (pneumococcal), due to serum or vaccine[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Rigid, rigidity, nuchal[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Syndrome, Dupré's (meningism)[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026

Nearest codes (40)

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

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. "R29.1 — Meningismus." ICD-10-CM FY2026. https://medcoder.ai/icd10/code/r29.1-meningismus

Change history

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

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.

Nearest Codes in This Family

Official ICD-10-CM classifications closest to R29.1 in its code family, with their registry titles.

View all codes in the R29 family