From the Research
The ICD-10 code for a bladder infection (urinary tract infection or cystitis) is N30.90, which specifically represents cystitis, unspecified, without hematuria. This code is essential for accurate documentation and billing purposes, as well as for tracking disease prevalence and ensuring appropriate treatment protocols 1. If the bladder infection presents with blood in the urine, the appropriate code would be N30.91. For more specific types of bladder infections, there are additional codes such as N30.00 for acute cystitis without hematuria or N30.01 for acute cystitis with hematuria.
When documenting a bladder infection, healthcare providers should specify the type (acute, chronic, interstitial, etc.) and whether hematuria is present to ensure accurate coding. Proper coding is essential for medical billing, tracking disease prevalence, and ensuring appropriate treatment protocols. Treatment typically involves antibiotics such as nitrofurantoin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, or fluoroquinolones, with duration depending on infection severity and patient factors. According to the most recent guidelines, for uncomplicated acute cystitis in women, nitrofurantoin for 5 days, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole for 3 days (if local drug-resistance rates are less than 20%), fosfomycin in a single dose, or pivmecillinam for 5 days are recommended 1.
Some key points to consider when diagnosing and treating cystitis include:
- The most common pathogen is Escherichia coli 1
- Cystitis symptoms include lower abdominal pain, dysuria, and urinary urgency or frequency 1
- Urine cultures should be obtained in complicated or upper UTIs but not simple and lower tract UTIs, unless a patient is pregnant 2
- Imaging often is not required for simple cystitis and pyelonephritis 2
- Effective prophylactic options for UTI include antibiotics and vaginal estrogen for postmenopausal women 1