Question

A patient presents to the outpatient department for a chest x-ray. The physician's order lists the following reasons for the chest x-ray: fever and cough, rule out pneumonia. The radiologist reports that the chest x-ray is positive for double pneumonia.

a) J18.9, R05
b) J18.0, R05
c) J18.1, R05
d) J18.8, R05

Answer 1

The correct medical coding for a patient diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia and presenting with a cough is b) J18.0, R05, where J18.0 is for bilateral pneumonia and R05 is for the symptom of cough.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student is asking for the correct medical coding for a patient that presents with symptoms and radiologic evidence of pneumonia. According to ICD-10 (International Classification of Diseases), the proper codes would relate to the type of pneumonia diagnosed. The radiologist's report indicating a 'positive for double pneumonia' suggests that the patient has bilateral pneumonia, affecting both lungs. Therefore, the correct code should reflect this diagnosis.

The correct answer is b) J18.0, R05, where J18.0 stands for 'Bilateral pneumonia, not specified as being caused by a specific infectious agent,' and R05 represents 'Cough,' which is one of the symptoms presented by the patient.