Infectious gastroenteritis and colitis, unspecified

This code represents inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract, specifically the stomach, small intestine, and/or large intestine, due to an infectious agent that has not been identified or specified. Patients typically present with symptoms such as diarrhea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and fever.

Use this code when documentation clearly indicates infectious gastroenteritis or colitis, but the specific causative organism (e.g., bacterial, viral, parasitic) is not known or not documented. This code is appropriate when the provider has ruled out non-infectious causes and has not yet received definitive lab results for pathogen identification.

• Do not use this code if the documentation specifies a non-infectious cause for the gastroenteritis or colitis (e.g., irritable bowel syndrome, drug-induced).
• Always strive for a more specific code if the infectious agent is identified (e.g., bacterial, viral, parasitic gastroenteritis).
• Pay close attention to the "Excludes1" notes to avoid incorrect co-coding with conditions like colitis NOS or noninfective gastroenteritis.