The CDC included U09.9 (Post COVID-19 condition, unspecified) as part of the 159 new codes finalized for addition to the ICD-10 code set on Oct. 1. Previously, U09.9 was absent from the codes listed in the proposed code update.
This code—proposed for implementation at the March ICD-10 Coordination and Maintenance meeting—captures post-COVID-19 conditions or cases when a patient continues to have lingering symptoms after the infection is gone.
Coders should not use U09.9 in cases still presenting with active COVID-19. However, according to the FY2022 Tabular addenda, an exception is made in cases of re-infection occurring with a condition related to prior COVID-19.
Coders should list U09.9 secondary to specific codes for lingering conditions such as chronic respiratory failure (J96.1-), loss of smell (R43.8), loss of taste (R43.8), multisystem inflammatory syndrome (M35.81), pulmonary embolism (I26.-), and pulmonary fibrosis (J84.10), according to new tabular instructions for the code.