E11.44

HCC Category Mapping

What This Code Means

Type 2 diabetes with muscle weakness and wasting (amyotrophy) caused by nerve damage, typically affecting the thigh muscles. This results in weakness and difficulty with movement.

Coding Tips

• •Amyotrophy is characterized by muscle atrophy and weakness; ensure documentation specifies muscle involvement rather than just neuropathy
• •This condition may require physical therapy documentation to support medical necessity

Clinical Significance

Type 2 diabetes mellitus with diabetic amyotrophy is an uncommon but debilitating neurological complication characterized by acute onset of severe pain in the thigh followed by progressive proximal muscle weakness and atrophy. Also called diabetic lumbosacral radiculoplexus neuropathy or Bruns-Garland syndrome, it results from inflammatory vasculopathy of the nerve vasculature. Unlike polyneuropathy, amyotrophy tends to be asymmetric and may partially or fully resolve over months to years.

Documentation Requirements

• ✓Documentation must clearly identify amyotrophy as a diabetic complication in a Type 2 diabetic patient, describing the affected muscle groups, degree of atrophy, functional limitations, and pain severity.
• ✓Electromyography and nerve conduction studies are key diagnostic tests that should be documented.
• ✓Differential diagnosis excluding other causes of proximal weakness (such as inflammatory myopathy) should be noted.

Commonly Confused Codes