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E88.A

E88.AWasting disease (syndrome) due to underlying condition

Billable / specific codeICD-10-CM

E88.A is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code for wasting disease (syndrome) due to underlying condition. It is valid for submission on a claim.

Excludes1 — never code together

These conditions cannot occur together. Billing both on the same encounter is a denial.

  • cachexia NOS (R64)
  • nutritional marasmus (E41)

Excludes2 — not included here, but may coexist

The excluded condition is not part of this code, but a patient can have both. You may code both.

Code first

The underlying condition must be sequenced before this code.

  • underlying condition

Inclusion terms

Alternative wordings a physician may use in the chart for this same code.

  • Cachexia due to underlying condition

Other codes that can never be billed with E88.A

These codes carry an Excludes1 note pointing at E88.A. The conflict binds both ways, but ICD-10-CM only writes it down on one side — so you would not find this by reading E88.A alone.

Risk adjustment

E88.A does not map to an HCC and does not risk-adjust under CMS-HCC V28. That is normal — most ICD-10 codes do not. It still needs to be coded correctly; it just will not move a RAF score.

How E88.A is indexed

Coders do not find codes by browsing the tabular list — they look them up in the alphabetic index, under the word the physician wrote. These are the index entries that lead here, so you can see which chart wordings map to E88.A.

  • Disease, diseasedwasting NEC
  • Syndromewasting due to underlying condition(syndrome)
  • Wastingdisease(syndrome)
  • Cachexiadue tomalnutrition
  • Cachexiadue tounderlying condition
  • Disease, diseasedwasting NECdue tounderlying condition
  • Wastingdiseasedue tounderlying condition

Related codes at this level

Codes that share E88. If E88.A is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.

Questions about E88.A

Is E88.A a billable ICD-10-CM code?
Yes. E88.A is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.
Where does E88.A sit in the tabular list?
Endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E89), in the block Metabolic disorders (E70-E88).
What cannot be coded together with E88.A?
E88.A carries an Excludes1 note, which means the conditions it lists can never be coded together with it on the same encounter.
ICD-10-CMFY2026-Apr· effective April 1, 2026

Loaded directly from the CMS/NCHS ICD-10-CM public-domain release — see data sources and our editorial policy. If this page disagrees with the CMS tabular list, this page is wrong. Reference information for professional coders; not medical or billing advice.