E15

HCC Category Mapping

What This Code Means

This is a serious condition where a person loses consciousness due to dangerously low blood sugar levels, but they do not have diabetes. This can occur from certain medications, liver disease, or other medical conditions that affect how the body regulates blood sugar.

Coding Tips

• •Verify the patient does not have diabetes before coding E15; if diabetic hypoglycemia is present, use E10-E13 codes instead with the appropriate hypoglycemia manifestation code
• •Document the underlying cause of hypoglycemia (such as medication-induced, liver disease, or insulinoma) as this may require additional coding and helps establish medical necessity

Clinical Significance

E15 identifies nondiabetic hypoglycemic coma, a medical emergency where critically low blood glucose causes loss of consciousness in a patient without diabetes mellitus. Causes include insulinoma, exogenous insulin administration (factitious or iatrogenic), severe hepatic failure, adrenal insufficiency, sepsis, or alcohol intoxication with depleted glycogen stores.

Documentation Requirements

• ✓Documentation must confirm hypoglycemic coma and the absence of diabetes mellitus.
• ✓The underlying cause of the hypoglycemia should be identified and documented.
• ✓Blood glucose levels, treatment administered, and clinical response should be recorded.

Commonly Confused Codes