Drug-induced chronic gout, right ankle and foot, w/o tophus

This code signifies chronic gout affecting the right ankle and foot, specifically caused by a medication, without the presence of visible or palpable tophi. It indicates a long-standing inflammatory arthritis resulting from uric acid crystal deposition, triggered by an adverse drug effect.

Apply this code when documentation clearly states chronic gout in the right ankle and/or foot is drug-induced and tophi are absent. Supporting documentation should identify the causative drug and confirm the chronic nature of the gout.

• Ensure the documentation specifies "chronic" gout and explicitly links it to a drug.
• Verify the absence of tophi; if present, a different code would be appropriate.
• Always sequence the drug-induced gout code first, followed by an external cause code (T36-T50) to identify the specific drug.