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R78.72 ICD-10-CM Code: Abnormal gadolinium level in blood

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

Coding at a Glance

Tabular directives
1 Excludes1 · 8 Excludes2 · 1 use-additional code

Code Set: New for FY2027 — not valid before October 1, 2026.

Coding instructions

Official Tabular Instructional Notes: the inclusion, exclusion and sequencing notes published for R78.72 in the official ICD-10-CM tabular list, quoted as published.

Notes without a marker are published on R78.72 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).

Excludes2 — Not Included Here

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

Use Additional Code

Supplementary codes the tabular list directs you to add.

  • Use additional code to identify any retained foreign body, if applicable (Z18.-)

Source: inherited from R78

Coder workflow for R78.72

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

Before you code R78.72

  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 R78.72. 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 R78.72’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.

    ReviewT56.82

Consider R78.72. 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 R78.72(1 note)

    Coding workflow: If the documentation supports a condition named in this note, do not simply proceed with R78.72: the two are not reported together. The one exception is when the record shows the two conditions are unrelated to each other.

    CompareT56.82

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

  • Excludes2 — not part of R78.72(8 notes)

    Coding workflow: The conditions named in this note are not included in R78.72. When the record documents both, both may be reported; the note is a boundary, not a prohibition.

    CompareO28, E78, D69

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

  • Use Additional Code — after identifying R78.72(1 note)

    Coding workflow: Check whether the documentation supports the additional code(s) the note names, and report them with R78.72 when it does. Where the instruction is conditional (“if applicable”, “if known”), it applies only when the record documents the condition.

    ReviewZ18

    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 R78.72 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 R78.72 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).

ReviewT56.82

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

Coding question: Is a second code reported with R78.72?

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).

ReviewZ18

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

Abnormal gadolinium level in blood is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (R78.72).

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 (1)

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.

Decision Points

The directives on this code's own record, as a pre-claim checklist.

  1. 1 Use Additional Code instruction — report the named additional code(s) when the documentation supports them. See the Use Additional Code notes
  2. 1 Excludes1 entry — codes named there are generally not reported together with this code (Guidelines I.A.12.a). See the Excludes1 notes
  3. 8 Excludes2 entries — those conditions are not part of this code and may be reported additionally when documented. See the Excludes2 notes

Checklist rows are derived from this code's own official directives; the wording of each check is MedCoder editorial. The official notes themselves are in the sections each row links to.

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 R78.72 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 8 Excludes2 notes: R83 — Abnormal findings in cerebrospinal fluid (via R78.-), R83-R89 — Abnormal findings on examination of other body fluids, substances and tissues, without diagnosis (R83-R89) (via R78.-), R84 — Abnormal findings in specimens from respiratory organs and thorax (via R78.-), R85 — Abnormal findings in specimens from digestive organs and abdominal cavity (via R78.-), R86 — Abnormal findings in specimens from male genital organs (via R78.-), R87 — Abnormal findings in specimens from female genital organs (via R78.-), R88 — Abnormal findings in other body fluids and substances (via R78.-), R89 — Abnormal findings in specimens from other organs, systems and tissues (via R78.-).

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

Referenced by 1 Use Additional Code instruction: Z02.83 — Encounter for blood-alcohol and blood-drug test (via R78.-).

These codes instruct coders to additionally report this code when it applies.

Related Codes

Same Index main term, other category

The ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries files this code under the main term “Findings, abnormal, inconclusive, without diagnosis”; these codes share that main term but sit in a different category of the Tabular List.

R01.2 — Other cardiac sounds (heart, sounds), R70.0 — Elevated erythrocyte sedimentation rate (sedimentation rate, elevated), R71.0 — Precipitous drop in hematocrit (hematocrit drop), R71.8 — Other abnormality of red blood cells (anisocytosis), R73.09 — Other abnormal glucose (glucose), R73.9 — Hyperglycemia, unspecified (blood sugar, high), R74.01 — Elevation of levels of liver transaminase levels (SGOT), R74.02 — Elevation of levels of lactic acid dehydrogenase [LDH] (lactic acid dehydrogenase), R76.0 — Raised antibody titer (anticardiolipin antibody), R76.11 — Nonspecific reaction to tuberculin skin test without active tuberculosis (PPD), R79.89 — Other specified abnormal findings of blood chemistry (liver function test), R81 — Glycosuria (glycosuria), R82.0 — Chyluria (chyluria), R82.1 — Myoglobinuria (myoglobinuria), R82.2 — Biliuria (urine, bile), R82.3 — Hemoglobinuria (hematinuria), R82.4 — Acetonuria (ketonuria), R82.5 — Elevated urine levels of drugs, medicaments and biological substances (catecholamines), R82.71 — Bacteriuria (bacteriuria), R82.79 — Other abnormal findings on microbiological examination of urine (urine, culture positive), +50 more

Contextual Map

Every relationship of R78.72 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 R78.72 with these 10 related codes in Claim Check

Hierarchy

Excludes1

Referenced by Excludes2 notes

Referenced by Use Additional Code instructions

Index entries

  • Findings, abnormal, inconclusive, without diagnosis, in blood (of substance not normally found in blood), gadolinium level[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026

Nearest codes (15)

Change history

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

Change history

  • Upcoming · effective FY2027 — October 1, 2026
    Will be added to the code set
    Abnormal gadolinium level in blood
    FY2027 changes

Nearest Codes in This Family

Official ICD-10-CM classifications closest to R78.72 in its code family, with their registry titles.

View all codes in the R78 family