ICD-10 is the 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD) which is a medical classification list developed by the World Health Organization for diseases, signs and symptoms, abnormal findings, complaints, social circumstances, and external causes of injury or diseases.
ICD-10 Code Follies
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The international code set allows more than 14, 400 different codes and permits the tracking of many new diagnoses. The U.S. version of these ICD-10 codes has more than 68, 000 codes.
These are replacing the older ICD-9 codes.
The updating of the ICD-9 codes actually began in 1983. And over the years more and more code ideas were included in the master list—including some real head scratchers.
Here are some of our favorite hum-dingers.
Burn due to water skis on fire: V91.07xD
 Next time that ER nurse doubts your word when you say the water ski’s caught fire just look them in the eye and say “V91.07xD”! Yeah, it could happen. |
Other contact with shark: W56.49
 There are people who claim sharks like to be petted—like dogs. In case your shark doesn’t agree, there’s an ICD-10 code to cover what happens next. |
Hunting rifle discharge, undetermined intent: Y23.1
 Also known as the Cheney Code. |
Inadequate social skills, not elsewhere classified: Z73.4
 Good social skills and mental health go hand in hand. Hollywood has mined the comedic possibilities of what is, in reality, a serious problem for many people in shows like Seinfeld or movies like “What About Bob?” Still, when it’s needed, there’s a code for that. |
Sibling rivalry: Z62.891
 Our guess is that this is for the parents. Not the kids. “Why are you here?” says the ER nurse. “Sibling rivalry, ” says the Mom. No problem, we have a code for that. And a spa. |
Struck by Orca, initial encounter: W56.22xa
 The vast majority of encounters with Orcas occur in the splash zone at Sea World. Maybe these smart mammals are trying to tell us something. |
Bizarre personal appearance: R46.1
 “Honest doctor, I was driving along and this guy with a blue face jogged by. Unbelievable! That’s why I hit the tree.” No problem. We’ve got your code. |
Activity, knitting and crocheting: Y93.D1
 A little bit of research uncovered one case, from 1966, where a knitting basket was left open, a child fell into it and was speared by one of the knitting needles. That was nearly 50 years ago. So, we’re due. And with code Y93.D1, we’re ready. |
Unspecified balloon accident injuring occupant, sequela: V96.00XS
 Seat belts. That’s all we’re saying. |
Prolonged stay in weightless environment: X52
 Always the muscle atrophy. But hair. Whoever mentions weightless hair? No one. Finally we have a code to deal with epically unruly hair. |
Opera house as the place of occurrence of the external cause: Y92.253
 In 1905 a bridge on Metropolitan Opera stage collapsed, injuring nine actors. Interestingly, the opera resumed a few minutes later—once the injured were carted off. The audience stayed in their seats through it all! Should that ever happen again, we now have the proper ICD-10 code. |
Type A behavior pattern: Z73.1
 President Trump. What Z73.1 was made for. |
Final Thoughts
Actually dealing with the ICD-10 transition is no laughing matter—because it adds a significant amount of new detail and complexity to the coding process. Ironically and humorously, the bureaucratic impulse to over regulate also created these truly funny, ludicrous and illogical codes.
There are more. We only selected a few. Perhaps we’ll put together another group of priceless ICD-10 codes for another day.
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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