R40.2234Coma scale, best verbal response, inappropriate words, 24 hours or more after hospital admission

R40.2234 is the ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for coma scale, best verbal response, inappropriate words, 24 hours or more after hospital admission. It belongs to category R40 (Somnolence, stupor and coma), block R40-R46 (symptoms and signs involving cognition, perception, emotional state and behavior) and chapter 18 (symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified). It is billable, so it can be reported on its own for dates of service from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.

The 7th character "4" means 24 hours or more after hospital admission.

It is not a CC or MCC, so as a secondary diagnosis it doesn't change the MS-DRG severity level.

In MS-DRG v44.0, it is part of the grouping logic for DRG 951 (Other Factors Influencing Health Status, relative weight 0.5577), in MDC 23 (Factors Influencing Health Status and Other Contacts with Health Services), as a principal or secondary diagnosis. The DRG a claim lands in depends on the principal diagnosis, procedures and any CC/MCC secondary diagnoses.

It is not acceptable as the principal diagnosis for an inpatient stay; it may be reported as a secondary diagnosis.

It has been part of ICD-10-CM since the code set took effect on October 1, 2015 and hasn't changed since.