K72.10

Billable

Chronic hepatic failure without coma

HCC Category Mapping

V28HCC 63 — End-Stage Liver Disease

0.307

V24HCC 27 — End-Stage Liver Disease

0.910

ESRDHCC 27 — End-Stage Liver Disease

0.000

What This Code Means

Long-term liver failure where the liver is severely damaged and cannot function properly, but the patient is alert and conscious.

Coding Tips

•Verify documentation specifies 'chronic' hepatic failure to distinguish from acute liver failure
•Confirm absence of hepatic encephalopathy (coma) before assigning this code rather than K72.11

Clinical Significance

Chronic hepatic failure without coma represents end-stage liver disease where the liver cannot perform vital functions but cognitive function is preserved. This condition has high mortality risk requiring intensive management and urgent transplant evaluation.

Documentation Requirements

✓Documentation of chronic hepatic failure
✓Absence of coma or encephalopathy documented
✓Evidence of chronicity and duration
✓Laboratory markers of liver failure
✓Assessment of synthetic liver function
✓Evaluation of mental status
✓Transplant candidacy evaluation
✓Management of liver failure complications

Commonly Confused Codes

K72.11 — Chronic hepatic failure with coma includes encephalopathy K72.01 — Acute hepatic failure has rapid onset K70.40 — Alcoholic hepatic failure has specific alcohol etiology K76.7 — Hepatorenal syndrome is specific complication K74.60 — Unspecified cirrhosis may retain some function

Code Hierarchy

└K72Hepatic failure, not elsewhere classified └K72.1Chronic hepatic failure └K72.10Chronic hepatic failure without coma

└K72.10Chronic hepatic failure without coma