Meningismus

Meningismus refers to a constellation of symptoms mimicking meningitis, such as neck stiffness, headache, and photophobia, without actual inflammation of the meninges. It indicates meningeal irritation, often due to a systemic illness or other non-infectious causes, rather than direct meningeal infection.

This code is appropriate when a patient presents with signs of meningeal irritation, but diagnostic workup (e.g., cerebrospinal fluid analysis) rules out meningitis or other direct meningeal pathology. It is used for symptomatic reporting when the underlying cause of the meningeal signs is not yet definitively diagnosed as meningitis or is determined to be non-meningeal.

• Do not use this code if meningitis is confirmed; instead, code the specific type of meningitis.
• Always sequence this code after the definitive diagnosis for the underlying condition causing the meningeal irritation, if known.
• Documentation should clearly state "meningismus" or describe meningeal signs without evidence of meningeal inflammation.