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R50.2 ICD-10-CM Code: Drug induced fever

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

Coding at a Glance

Tabular directives
8 Excludes1 · 1 use-additional code

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 864 — FEVER AND INFLAMMATORY CONDITIONS (MDC 18)

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 R50.2 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 R50.2 itself; “inherited from” names the category or block whose note applies here.

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).

Use Additional Code

Supplementary codes the tabular list directs you to add.

  • Use additional code for adverse effect, if applicable, to identify drug (T36-T50 with fifth or sixth character 5)

Coder workflow for R50.2

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

Before you code R50.2

  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 →

  2. Check the Excludes1 note: if the documentation supports a condition named there, do not simply proceed with R50.2. 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. 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.
  2. Does the documentation support a condition named in R50.2’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.

    ReviewR50.83, R68.83, R56.0, O75.2, P81.9, R68.0

Consider R50.2. 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).
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.

Official instructions as workflow

  • Excludes1 — check before selecting R50.2(8 notes)

    Coding workflow: If the documentation supports a condition named in this note, do not simply proceed with R50.2: the two are not reported together. The one exception is when the record shows the two conditions are unrelated to each other.

    CompareR50.83, R68.83, R56.0, O75.2, P81.9, R68.0

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

  • Use Additional Code — after identifying R50.2(1 note)

    Coding workflow: Check whether the documentation supports the additional code(s) the note names, and report them with R50.2 when it does. Where the instruction is conditional (“if applicable”, “if known”), it applies only when the record documents the condition.

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

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 R50.2 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).

Documentation: Both the condition R50.2 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).

ReviewR50.83, R68.83, R56.0, O75.2, P81.9, R68.0

Documentation: A condition the Use Additional Code note names is documented.

Coding question: Is a second code reported with R50.2?

Path: Review the Use Additional Code note and the code it names.

Reason: The additional code is reported when the record documents the condition; a conditional instruction applies only when its condition is met (Guidelines I.A.13).

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

Drug induced fever is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (R50.2).

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 (5)

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

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 1 MS-DRG: DRG 864 (MDC 18).

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

Clinical classification (AHRQ CCSR):INJ030 — Drug induced or toxic related condition (default); SYM002 — Fever.

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 categories (Drug induced or toxic related condition, Fever).

N14.1 — Nephropathy induced by other drugs, medicaments and biological substances, N14.11 — Contrast-induced nephropathy, N14.19 — Nephropathy induced by other drugs, medicaments and biological substances, N14.2 — Nephropathy induced by unspecified drug, medicament or biological substance, N14.3 — Nephropathy induced by heavy metals, N14.4 — Toxic nephropathy, not elsewhere classified, N46.021 — Azoospermia due to drug therapy, N46.121 — Oligospermia due to drug therapy, N48.33 — Priapism, drug-induced, N52.2 — Drug-induced erectile dysfunction, O77.1 — Fetal stress in labor or delivery due to drug administration, P58.41 — Neonatal jaundice due to drugs or toxins transmitted from mother, P58.42 — Neonatal jaundice due to drugs or toxins given to newborn, P93.8 — Other reactions and intoxications due to drugs administered to newborn, R33.0 — Drug induced retention of urine, R50.81 — Fever presenting with conditions classified elsewhere, R50.82 — Postprocedural fever, R50.83 — Postvaccination fever, R50.84 — Febrile nonhemolytic transfusion reaction, R50.9 — Fever, unspecified, +232 more

Same Index main term, other category

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

I09.2 — Chronic rheumatic pericarditis (rheumatic, inactive or quiescent with, pericarditis), I09.81 — Rheumatic heart failure (rheumatic, inactive or quiescent with, heart failure), I09.89 — Other specified rheumatic heart diseases (rheumatic, inactive or quiescent with, heart disease NEC), I09.9 — Rheumatic heart disease, unspecified (rheumatic, inactive or quiescent with, carditis), J00 — Acute nasopharyngitis [common cold] (catarrhal), J30.1 — Allergic rhinitis due to pollen (hay), J30.89 — Other allergic rhinitis (hay, due to, allergen other than pollen), J31.0 — Chronic rhinitis (catarrhal, chronic), J45.901 — Unspecified asthma with (acute) exacerbation (hay, with asthma, with, exacerbation), J45.902 — Unspecified asthma with status asthmaticus (hay, with asthma, with, status asthmaticus), J45.909 — Unspecified asthma, uncomplicated (hay, with asthma), M04.1 — Periodic fever syndromes (periodic), O86.4 — Pyrexia of unknown origin following delivery (puerperal), P81.0 — Environmental hyperthermia of newborn (newborn, environmental), P81.9 — Disturbance of temperature regulation of newborn, unspecified (newborn), T67.01 — Heatstroke and sunstroke (heat), T73.3 — Exhaustion due to excessive exertion (Bonvale dam), T81.40 — Infection following a procedure, unspecified (postoperative, due to infection), Z16.30 — Resistance to unspecified antimicrobial drugs (resistant organism infection), Z71.51 — Drug abuse counseling and surveillance of drug abuser (abuse counseling and surveillance), +109 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.

Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH)

Contextual Map

Every relationship of R50.2 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 R50.2 with these 9 related codes in Claim Check

Hierarchy

Excludes1

  • R50.83 — Postvaccination fever[Excludes1]: “postvaccination (postimmunization) fever (R50.83)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026

Use Additional Code (15)

Clinical classification (CCSR)

MS-DRG Grouper

MDC crossing

  • MDC 18 — Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Systemic or Unspecified Sites[MDC crossing]: “Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, Systemic or Unspecified Sites — 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. 1 same-MDC procedures group here; browse them on the MDC page.”— CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual · FY2026

Index entries

  • Drug, induced fever[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Fever (inanition) (of unknown origin) (persistent) (with chills) (with rigor), drug induced[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Fever (inanition) (of unknown origin) (persistent) (with chills) (with rigor), iodide[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Fever (inanition) (of unknown origin) (persistent) (with chills) (with rigor), steroid[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Steroid, effects (adverse) (adrenocortical) (iatrogenic), fever[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026

Nearest codes

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. "R50.2 — Drug induced fever." ICD-10-CM FY2026. https://medcoder.ai/icd10/code/r50.2-drug-induced-fever

Change history

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

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 R50.2 in its code family, with their registry titles.

View all codes in the R50 family