Drug-induced chronic gout, unspecified wrist, without tophus

This diagnosis code signifies a persistent inflammatory arthritis caused by elevated uric acid levels, specifically induced by medication, affecting an unspecified wrist joint. The condition is chronic, meaning it is long-standing, and does not involve the formation of tophi, which are deposits of uric acid crystals.

This code is appropriate when documentation clearly indicates chronic gout in the wrist, directly attributed to a drug, and the specific wrist (left or right) is not documented. The patient's medical record should confirm the absence of tophaceous deposits and identify the causative medication.

• Ensure documentation specifies "drug-induced" and "chronic" gout; otherwise, a different etiology or acute gout code may be more appropriate.
• Verify that no specific wrist (left or right) is identified; if it is, a more specific laterality code should be used.
• Always code the adverse effect of the drug (T36-T50 with a 5th or 6th character of 5) as an additional diagnosis to fully explain the drug-induced nature.