Devonne recently experienced a death in her family and has been severely depressed. She went to her psychiatrist and he prescribed a new anti-depressant drug. After Devonne started taking the anti-depressant, she experienced nausea, vomiting, and dizziness. She called her physician, who advised her to stop taking the anti-depressant and come into the clinic so that he could examine her and prescribe a new anti-depressant. What are the appropriate ICD-9 diagnosis codes for Devonne’s reaction to the anti-depressant?
Explanation
Answer: A - The appropriate ICD-9 diagnosis codes for Devonne’s reaction to the anti-depressant are: 969.00, 787.01, 780.4 and E939.0. In order to code for a poisoning or toxic effect correctly, you must first code the poisoning, which in this case is 969.00 (Poisoning by Anti-Depressant, Unspecified). The patient experienced adverse effects to the medication, therefore the next codes should be 787.01 (Nausea and Vomiting) and 780.4 (Dizziness). The last code is the (External Cause Effect) or the reason for the poisoning. Although Devonne was depressed, this was not a suicide attempt and she took the medication as prescribed by her physician, so the correct code is E939.0 (Therapeutic Use).
