89 Other specified disorders of brain.
Cerebral edema occurs due to an increase in brain fluid content and can be divided into three forms: cytotoxic, vasogenic and interstitial, or a combination (Table II).
Cerebral edema can result from a variety of derangements. The major types include vasogenic, cellular, osmotic, and interstitial.
Cerebral edema is also known as brain swelling. It's a life-threatening condition that causes fluid to develop in the brain. This fluid increases the pressure inside of the skull — more commonly referred to as intracranial pressure (ICP).
Cerebral oedema can be classified as the tangible swelling produced by expansion of the interstitial fluid volume. Hydrocephalus can be succinctly described as the abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) within the brain which ultimately leads to oedema within specific sites of parenchymal tissue.
You may notice any of these symptoms:Headache.Neck pain or stiffness.Nausea or vomiting.Dizziness.Irregular breathing.Vision loss or changes.Memory loss.Inability to walk.More items...•
Mannitol is used in the management of severe head injury, where it is more effective than loop diuretics or hypertonic saline in reducing brain water content, and has been used with success in treating cerebral edema complicating hepatic failure.
Medical treatment. The most rapid and effective means of decreasing tissue water and brain bulk is osmotherapy [1]. Osmotic therapy is intended to draw water out of the brain by an osmotic gradient and to decrease blood viscosity. These changes would decrease ICP and increase cerebral blood flow (CBF).
Mannitol and hypertonic saline (HS) are the most commonly used osmotic agents. The relative safety and efficacy of HS and mannitol in the treatment of cerebral edema and reduction of enhanced ICP have been demonstrated in the past decades.
Vasogenic cerebral edema refers to a type of cerebral edema in which the blood brain barrier (BBB) is disrupted (cf. cytotoxic cerebral edema, where the blood-brain barrier remains intact). It is an extracellular edema which mainly affects the white matter via leakage of fluid from capillaries.
The main causes of this type of edema include traumatic brain injury, metabolic disease, infections like encephalitis or meningitis, or the ingestion of chemicals like methanol or ecstasy. Vasogenic If you have a stroke, there's a chance your brain will swell because of a blood clot or a lack of oxygen.
Under pathological conditions, such as ischemic stroke, the dysfunction of the BBB results in increased paracellular permeability, directly contributing to the extravasation of blood components into the brain and causing cerebral vasogenic edema.
Medical treatment. The most rapid and effective means of decreasing tissue water and brain bulk is osmotherapy [1]. Osmotic therapy is intended to draw water out of the brain by an osmotic gradient and to decrease blood viscosity. These changes would decrease ICP and increase cerebral blood flow (CBF).
Vasogenic edema is defined as extracellular accumulation of fluid resulting from disruption of the blood-brain barrier (BBB) and extravasations of serum proteins, while cytotoxic edema is characterized by cell swelling caused by intracellular accumulation of fluid.
Mannitol and hypertonic saline (HS) are the most commonly used osmotic agents. The relative safety and efficacy of HS and mannitol in the treatment of cerebral edema and reduction of enhanced ICP have been demonstrated in the past decades.
Meningiomas and Brain Edema It was found that 50% of the PTBE, as denoted by hypodensity on CT, resolved within 4 days, with 90% resolution in 14 days.
Non-traumatic conditions, which are accompanied by cerebral edema, get the code G93.6, from the Diseases of the nervous system section. G93.6 has two principal diagnosis MCC exclusions – itself and G93.82, Brain death.
It often magnifies or complicates the clinical features of the primary underlying condition. The only Excludes 1 instructions are that a patient can’t have non- traumatic and traumatic cerebral edema concomitantly.
Have cerebral edema be woven into the notes repeatedly, not just once in a single note. They should link the treatment and monitoring with the condition (e.g., “will start on Decadron for the cerebral edema and get repeat MRI in two weeks.”). It should also be present in the discharge summary.
But should it always be picked up? This depends on whether the provider considers it clinically significant, and whether it meets the criteria for a valid secondary diagnosis. The provider will often not distinguish between the contribution of the underlying condition and the resultant cerebral edema or brain compression. The patient is undergoing an urgent decompressive surgery – and maybe it wouldn’t have been as urgent if the cerebral edema hadn’t been present. It is easier to identify when the treatment is Decadron or mannitol, because those are specifically targeted for edema.
However, the development of cerebral edema isn’t invariable; for instance, not all brain tumors have surrounding vasogenic edema. It is an additional facet or component, and therefore, it is eligible for additional coding. It often magnifies or complicates the clinical features of the primary underlying condition.
Cerebral edema doesn’t develop randomly, or out of the blue. Conditions that cause cerebral edema include traumatic brain injuries, ischemic and hemorrhagic strokes, brain tumors, infection, altitude sickness, electrolyte derangements, and toxins. However, the development of cerebral edema isn’t invariable; for instance, ...
If there is any loss of consciousness, in addition to those two diagnoses, there are 337 traumatic conditions, which exclude traumatic cerebral edema as a MCC. These conditions include facial and skull fractures and other types of injuries, traumatic brain injuries and hemorrhages, suicide attempts, and traumatic compartment syndromes.
Audit Considerations & Strategies. The coder originally did not assign a code for the cerebral edema because it was not treated ( e.g. high-dose steroids (Decadron), diuretics (Mannitol), intubation, transfer to the ICU, etc.)
If cerebral edema is present with “mass effect” or when there is “midline-shift” potentially causing “brain compression (MCC)” or “brain herniation” (also an MCC) we recommend coding the condition.
Even though the cerebral edema was not treated, it was evaluated and could have contributed to the decision for comfort care only