Medical Coding MCQ

1). A patient is admitted to undergo chemotherapy for cancer of the sigmoid colon that was previously treated with resection. Which code is sequenced first?

A. 153.3 B.153.9 C. V58.11 D. V10

2). A patient was admitted to the hospital for chest pain due to tachycardia. While in the hospital, the patient was also treated or type 1 diabetes. Upon further review, the coder noted that the documentation and EKG didn’t provide further evidence of the type of tachycardia or underlying cardiac condition(s).What should the coder report as the principal diagnosis?

A.Chest pain B.Tachycardia, NOS C.Insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus D.Cardiac disease, NOS

3). Dr. Smith recorded the following diagnoses on the patient’s discharge sheet: gastrointestinal bleeding due to acute gastritis and angiodysplasia. The principal diagnosis is coded as

A.GI bleeding. B.acute gastritis. C.angiodysplasia. D.either acute gastritis or angiodysplasia.

4. A patient was admitted with extreme fatigue and lethargy. Upon discharge, the physician documents: fatigue due to either depression or hypothyroidism. Which of the following are correct codes and sequencing for the scenario?

A. 780.79, 311, 244.9 B. 311, 249.9, 789.79 C. 249.9, 311 D. 789.79

5. Of the following, which code would take precedence over the other?

A. 072.0 over 033.0 B. 595.0 over 131.09 C. 486 over 480 D. 112.2 over 599.0

6. Upon discharge, the physician documents the following on the patient’s discharge sheet:?HIV infection. As the inpatient coder, your next step should be to

A. code the HIV infection as if it exists (according to UHDDS guidelines) and report it as the principal diagnosis.

B. review the UHDDS guidelines for assigning possible HIV infection codes versus AIDS codes.

C. query the physician and request that the statement be amended with a positive

(or negative) confirmation of the HIV infection.

D. wait to code the patient’s record until a positive finding on the serology report

confirms the HIV diagnosis.

7. For which of the following scenarios would it be appropriate to query the physician for more information before coding and/or sequencing?

A. A patient was admitted with severe abdominal pain. At discharge, the physician documents: abdominal pain due to either hiatal hernia or diverticula.

B. A patient was admitted with congestive heart failure (treated with IV furosemide) and unstable angina (treated with nitrates).

C. A patient has low potassium levels noted on the laboratory report (treated with orally administered potassium).

D. A patient is admitted with dysuria with no cause found.

8. Which of the following statements is true?

A. A patient has diabetes and an ulcer. Code the ulcer as diabetic.

B. A pregnant patient has diabetes. Code diabetes as complicating the pregnancy.

C. A patient has diabetes and cardiomyopathy. Code the cardiomyopathy as a diabetic complication.

D. A patient has diabetes and cataracts. Code diabetic cataracts.

9. A patient was admitted for metastatic carcinoma from the breast to several lymph node sites. Two years ago she had a double mastectomy. Which of the following is the correct code assignment for this case?

A. 196.8, V10.3 C. 196.8, 174.9, 85.42

B. 174.9, 196.8 D. 196.8, 174.9, V10.3

10. One of the secondary diagnoses listed on the patient’s discharge sheet is seizures. As a coder, your next step is probably

A. coding seizures to 780.39. B. coding seizures to 345.

C. not reporting the code because it’s a symptom.

D. querying the physician for more information/clarification.