Acute Stress Reaction ICD-10 Code
Download the top mental health ICD-10 codes cheat sheet
Download free resource
Enter your email below to access this resource.
By entering your email address, you are opting-in to receive emails from SimplePractice on its various products, solutions, and/or offerings. Unsubscribe anytime.
Finding the right acute stress reaction ICD-10 code is an essential part of being a mental health clinician, as it can help you save time reaching a diagnosis and creating an individualized treatment plan.
Administratively, ensuring that you are using the correct ICD-10 codes can help you avoid any unnecessary delays with insurance reimbursement.
This article provides an overview of acute stress reaction ICD-10 codes to support clinicians in identifying the right code for their patients and practice, along with a list of acute stress reaction symptoms.
Bookmark this article as a reference to use next time you need to access information on acute stress reaction ICD-10 codes.
What are ICD-10 codes and DSM-5 codes?
ICD-10 codes are used to record diagnoses, accompany assessments, and bill insurance payers.
The International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10) is a guide published by the World Health Organization (WHO) that allows clinicians around the world to use standard diagnostic language. Clinicians in the U.S. refer to the ICD-10-CM, a clinical modification of the ICD-10 used for diagnosis codes.
Using the same descriptors allows clinicians and statisticians to efficiently measure and track health information.
Behavioral health practitioners in the U.S. also use the American Psychiatric Association (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health Disorders, fifth edition (DSM-5), which also contains ICD-10 codes. For example, you’ll be able to search “reaction to severe stress unspecified criteria” or “situational stress ICD-10” to narrow down your diagnosis.
What is the acute stress reaction ICD-10 code?
Acute stress reaction is listed in the ICD-10 under section “F40-48 Anxiety, dissociative, stress-related, somatoform and other nonpsychotic mental disorders” and the subheading “F43, Reaction to severe stress, and adjustment disorders.”
There is only one ICD-10 code for acute stress reaction: F43.0.
However, several other stress disorders are listed under the “F43, Reaction to severe stress, and adjustment disorders” subheading, including:
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (F43.1)
- Post-traumatic stress disorder, unspecified (F43.10)
- Post-traumatic stress disorder, acute (F43.11)
- Post-traumatic stress disorder, chronic (F43.12)
- Adjustment disorders (F43.2)
- Adjustment disorder, unspecified (F43.20)
- Adjustment disorder with depressed mood (F43.21)
- Adjustment disorder with anxiety (F43.22)
- Adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood (F43.23)
- Adjustment disorder with disturbance of conduct (F43.24)
- Adjustment disorder with mixed disturbance of emotions and conduct (F43.25)
- Adjustment disorder with other symptoms (F43.29)
- Other reactions to severe stress (F43.8)
- Prolonged grief disorder (F43.81)
- Other reactions to severe stress (F43.89)
- Reaction to severe stress, unspecified (F43.9)
While acute stress disorder is not listed as one of the most frequently billed ICD-10 codes, other stress disorders, such as PTSD, unspecified, is listed at #7 in SimplePractice’s list of the 20 most-frequently billed ICD-10 codes.
What is the situational stress ICD-10 code?
While there is no specific situational stress ICD-10 code, both acute stress reaction (ICD-10 code F43.0) and adjustment disorders (F43.2) are considered to be conditions that occur in stressful situations.
Reaction to severe stress, unspecified criteria
Reaction to severe stress, unspecified is code F43.9. The ICD-10 lists related synonyms as:
- Chronic stress disorder
- Chronic stress reaction
- Stress
Acute stress reaction symptoms
According to the ICD-10, acute stress reaction symptoms are characterized as transient symptoms that occur in response to exceptional physical or mental stress.
A person’s vulnerability and coping capacity may impact the occurrence and severity of acute stress reactions. However, it usually subsides within a few hours or days.
The symptoms vary, but some of the key signs of acute stress disorder include an initial state of “daze” and:
- Constriction in the field of consciousness
- Narrowing of attention
- Inability to respond to stimuli
- Disorientation
- Withdrawal from the situation with dissociative features
- Agitation and over-activity
- Panic or anxiety with physical symptoms including sweating, flushing, and tachycardia
- Amnesia during the episode
Using the DSM-5 F43.0 diagnosis code
In the DSM-5, ICD-10 code F43.0 is recorded as “Acute stress disorder” and its diagnostic criteria includes:
1. A person is exposed to actual or threatened death, serious injury, or sexual violation in at least one of these ways:
- Directly experiencing the traumatic event(s)
- Witnessing the event(s) as it happened in person
- Finding out that the event(s) happened to a close family member or friend
- Repeated or extreme exposure to details of traumatic event(s)
2. Presence of at least nine symptoms from any of the five categories, starting or worsening after the traumatic event(s):
- Intrusion symptoms
- Negative mood
- Dissociative symptoms
- Avoidance symptoms
- Arousal symptoms
3. The duration of the disturbance lasts for three days to one month
4. The disturbance causes significant distress or impairment in important areas of life, like work and social relationships
5. The disturbance is not related to medication, substance use, or another medical or psychotic disorder
Differential diagnoses for acute stress reaction ICD-10
Even though patients may meet some of the criterion for an acute stress reaction, there may be a more appropriate diagnosis, such as:
- Panic disorder
- Dissociative disorders
- Post-traumatic stress disorder
- Obsessive-compulsive disorder
- Psychotic disorders
- Traumatic brain injury
How to find the ICD-10 acute stress reaction code
The full list of codes for stress-related disorders are available in the following digital and book formats:
- ICD-10 Data, a searchable ICD-10 database
- The official ICD-10 from the WHO under the subheading F43. Reaction to severe stress and adjustment disorders
- DSM-5 throughout the textbook and online. The hard copy contains a handy alphabetical list and numerical list of ICD-10 codes.
It is worth noting that while the DSM-5 does contain accurate ICD-10 codes, they may not align with the most recent ICD version and diagnostic criteria and other indicators may differ.
How SimplePractice streamlines running your practice
SimplePractice is HIPAA-compliant practice management software with everything you need to run your practice built into the platform—from booking and scheduling to insurance and client billing.
If you’ve been considering switching to an EHR system, SimplePractice empowers you to streamline appointment bookings, reminders, and rescheduling and simplify the billing and coding process—so you get more time for the things that matter most to you.
Try SimplePractice free for 30 days. No credit card required.