ICD-10-CM Code For Relapsing Fevers: Group Overview

The International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) code group A68 includes diagnoses for relapsing fever syndromes caused by spirochetal organisms, characterized by recurrent febrile episodes and bacteremia. These ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes are used to document acute and recurrent presentations of relapsing fever, capturing disease severity, systemic involvement, and complications during episodic illness. Accurate coding within the ICD-10-CM A68 group supports proper claim adjudication, complete clinical documentation, and appropriate reimbursement.

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ICD-10-CM A68: Relapsing Fevers Overview

Relapsing fevers are a group of infectious diseases caused by relapsing bacteremia from certain spirochetes, producing recurrent episodes of fever and systemic symptoms. These conditions primarily affect the hematologic and infectious disease domains and can involve multiple organ systems during acute relapses. Accurate coding matters for appropriate clinical documentation and reimbursement because it captures the infectious etiology and guides claim adjudication for episodic care.

When to Use

Use a code from this group when a patient has a documented relapsing fever due to spirochetal infection with clinical evidence of recurrent febrile episodes or laboratory confirmation. Select the most specific code reflecting the type of relapsing fever and any documented complications or systemic involvement.

ICD-10-CM Codes

3 rows

ICD-10-CM Code	Description
A68.0	Louse-borne relapsing fever
A68.1	Tick-borne relapsing fever
A68.9	Relapsing fever, unspecified

DRG Codes

3 rows

DRG Code	Description
867	Other Infectious and Parasitic Diseases Diagnoses with MCC
868	Other Infectious and Parasitic Diseases Diagnoses with CC
869	Other Infectious and Parasitic Diseases Diagnoses without CC/MCC

Typical Clinical Scenarios

An adult patient presents to the emergency department with sudden onset high fevers, severe headache, myalgias, and migratory arthralgias after returning from travel to a region with known tick exposure; spirochetes are identified on blood smear and the clinical team documents an acute relapsing febrile illness consistent with infection by a relapsing fever Borrelia species, prompting assignment of an acute relapsing fever code. Typical codes: A68.0.
An elderly patient in an outpatient infectious disease clinic has recurrent episodes of febrile illness over several months with intermittent periods of symptom resolution; prior workup documented serologic evidence of a relapsing spirochetal infection and the clinician documents ongoing relapsing fever as the active problem, leading to use of a code for relapsing fever without more specific complication. Typical codes: A68.9.
A hospitalized patient develops severe neurologic manifestations (neck stiffness, altered mental status) and ischemic skin lesions after an initial febrile illness; cerebrospinal fluid and blood studies support dissemination of a relapsing spirochetal infection with systemic complications, so a code for relapsing fever with specified organ involvement is assigned when coding the complication of the spirochetal disease. Typical codes: A68.1, A68.0.

Related Codes

A65-NONVENEREAL-SYPHILIS

ICD-10-CM Code For Nonvenereal Syphilis: Group Overview

A66-YAWS

ICD-10-CM Code For Yaws: Group Overview

A67-PINTA-CARATE

ICD-10-CM Code For Pinta Carate: Group Overview

A69-OTHER-SPIROCHETAL-INFECTIONS

ICD-10-CM Code For Other Spirochetal Infections: Group Overview

Frequently Asked Questions

References

1.CPT® Codes and Descriptions. AAPC. Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.Maintains the CPT code set's official descriptions and guidelines, licensed from the American Medical Association, used as the definitional source for CPT codes on this page.
2.HCPCS Quarterly Update. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.CMS's quarterly release of HCPCS Level II codes and short/long descriptors, the source for HCPCS code definitions and update history.
3.ICD-10-CM Full Code List. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.CMS's complete ICD-10-CM diagnosis code list, used to cross-reference diagnosis codes associated with this procedure or service.

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When to Use

ICD-10-CM Codes

3 rows

ICD-10-CM Code	Description
A68.0	Louse-borne relapsing fever
A68.1	Tick-borne relapsing fever
A68.9	Relapsing fever, unspecified

DRG Codes

3 rows

DRG Code	Description
867	Other Infectious and Parasitic Diseases Diagnoses with MCC
868	Other Infectious and Parasitic Diseases Diagnoses with CC
869	Other Infectious and Parasitic Diseases Diagnoses without CC/MCC

Typical Clinical Scenarios

An adult patient presents to the emergency department with sudden onset high fevers, severe headache, myalgias, and migratory arthralgias after returning from travel to a region with known tick exposure; spirochetes are identified on blood smear and the clinical team documents an acute relapsing febrile illness consistent with infection by a relapsing fever Borrelia species, prompting assignment of an acute relapsing fever code. Typical codes: A68.0.
An elderly patient in an outpatient infectious disease clinic has recurrent episodes of febrile illness over several months with intermittent periods of symptom resolution; prior workup documented serologic evidence of a relapsing spirochetal infection and the clinician documents ongoing relapsing fever as the active problem, leading to use of a code for relapsing fever without more specific complication. Typical codes: A68.9.
A hospitalized patient develops severe neurologic manifestations (neck stiffness, altered mental status) and ischemic skin lesions after an initial febrile illness; cerebrospinal fluid and blood studies support dissemination of a relapsing spirochetal infection with systemic complications, so a code for relapsing fever with specified organ involvement is assigned when coding the complication of the spirochetal disease. Typical codes: A68.1, A68.0.

Related Codes

A65-NONVENEREAL-SYPHILIS

ICD-10-CM Code For Nonvenereal Syphilis: Group Overview

A66-YAWS

ICD-10-CM Code For Yaws: Group Overview

A67-PINTA-CARATE

ICD-10-CM Code For Pinta Carate: Group Overview

A69-OTHER-SPIROCHETAL-INFECTIONS

ICD-10-CM Code For Other Spirochetal Infections: Group Overview

Frequently Asked Questions

References

1.CPT® Codes and Descriptions. AAPC. Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.Maintains the CPT code set's official descriptions and guidelines, licensed from the American Medical Association, used as the definitional source for CPT codes on this page.
2.HCPCS Quarterly Update. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.CMS's quarterly release of HCPCS Level II codes and short/long descriptors, the source for HCPCS code definitions and update history.
3.ICD-10-CM Full Code List. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). Retrieved Aug 11, 2026.CMS's complete ICD-10-CM diagnosis code list, used to cross-reference diagnosis codes associated with this procedure or service.

Published by

Trek Health powers OpenPayer with a leading commercial payer intelligence platform, seamlessly converting fragmented payer data into actionable insights for provider organizations.

ICD-10-CM Code For Relapsing Fevers: Group Overview

Sign up for ICD-10-CM Code For Relapsing Fevers: Group Overview policy alerts

ICD-10-CM A68: Relapsing Fevers Overview

ICD-10-CM Code For Relapsing Fevers: Group Overview

Sign up for ICD-10-CM Code For Relapsing Fevers: Group Overview policy alerts

ICD-10-CM A68: Relapsing Fevers Overview

When to Use

ICD-10-CM Codes

DRG Codes

Typical Clinical Scenarios

Related Codes

Which ICD-10-CM codes are included in the A68 relapsing fevers group?

Why does accurate coding of `A68` diagnoses matter for clinical documentation?

How do A68 codes relate to DRG assignment for inpatient claims?

What clinical features are emphasized by the A68 code group description?

Can `A68.9` be used when the vector is unknown?

References

When to Use

ICD-10-CM Codes

DRG Codes

Typical Clinical Scenarios

Related Codes

Which ICD-10-CM codes are included in the A68 relapsing fevers group?

Why does accurate coding of `A68` diagnoses matter for clinical documentation?

How do A68 codes relate to DRG assignment for inpatient claims?

What clinical features are emphasized by the A68 code group description?

Can `A68.9` be used when the vector is unknown?

References