E50
Header — not billableVitamin A deficiency
The ICD-10 code for vitamin a deficiency is E50.
E50 is a non-billable header code. It groups related conditions but cannot be used on its own for reimbursement — select one of the 10 more specific codes below.
Clinical notes
Excludes1 (not coded here)
An Excludes1 note is a pure exclusion: the excluded condition and this code should never be reported together, because the two conditions cannot occur at the same time (e.g. a congenital form vs. an acquired form of the same disease).
- sequelae of vitamin A deficiency (E64.1)
Documentation support
General coding-documentation guidance — not a substitute for payer-specific requirements or professional coding judgment.
- •This is a non-billable header code. Documentation must support a more specific child code before this diagnosis can be reported on a claim.
- •Confirm the excluded condition(s) listed above are not also present — Excludes1 conditions cannot be coded together with this one.
- •As a general rule, code to the highest level of specificity supported by the documentation in the medical record.
Child codes under E50
- E50.0Vitamin A deficiency with conjunctival xerosis
- E50.1Vitamin A deficiency with Bitot's spot and conjunctival xerosis
- E50.2Vitamin A deficiency with corneal xerosis
- E50.3Vitamin A deficiency with corneal ulceration and xerosis
- E50.4Vitamin A deficiency with keratomalacia
- E50.5Vitamin A deficiency with night blindness
- E50.6Vitamin A deficiency with xerophthalmic scars of cornea
- E50.7Other ocular manifestations of vitamin A deficiency
- E50.8Other manifestations of vitamin A deficiency
- E50.9Vitamin A deficiency, unspecified
Related codes in this category
- E51Thiamine deficiencynon-billable header
- E52Niacin deficiency [pellagra]
- E53Deficiency of other B group vitaminsnon-billable header
- E54Ascorbic acid deficiency
- E55Vitamin D deficiencynon-billable header
- E56Other vitamin deficienciesnon-billable header
- E58Dietary calcium deficiency
- E59Dietary selenium deficiency
- E60Dietary zinc deficiency
- E61Deficiency of other nutrient elementsnon-billable header
- E63Other nutritional deficienciesnon-billable header
- E64Sequelae of malnutrition and other nutritional deficienciesnon-billable header
- E50Vitamin A deficiencynon-billable header