Coding direction: Acute renal failure with diabetes mellitus

This bulletin clarifies how to classify acute renal failure (acute kidney injury) with diabetes mellitus to ensure consistency and accuracy of data collection. 

Coding direction

• Per the direction in the ICD-10-CA alphabetical index, always classify diabetes mellitus with acute renal failure (acute kidney injury) to E1–.28 Type ~ Diabetes mellitus with other specified kidney complication not elsewhere classified (whether attributed to another cause, postprocedural, postoperative or underlying cause is not identified).
• Also assign an additional code, mandatory, for the underlying cause.

The code titles in block E10–E14 Diabetes mellitus in ICD-10-CA clearly state diabetes mellitus with a complication. Therefore, a cause-and-effect relationship does not have to be specifically documented to classify cases to these categories.
Per the Diabetes Mellitus coding standard, a code for diabetes mellitus is mandatory to assign whenever the condition is documented.

eQuery

You can find answers to questions about acute renal failure (acute kidney injury) with diabetes that have been submitted to eQuery by searching on the keywords “E10,” “E11,” “E14,” “IDDM,” “NIDDM,” “diabetes mellitus,” “N17.9,” “acute renal failure,” “AKI” and “acute kidney injury.” If you require assistance with coding a specific case, submit your question and relevant clinical documentation via eQuery.

Classification-related products

eQuery and Education resources with reference to acute renal failure (acute kidney injury) with diabetes mellitus have been updated to align with the ICD-10-CA alphabetical index. The Canadian Coding Standards will be updated in v2025.