CPT 0110T: Sensation and Pain Threshold Testing of an Extremity

CPT code 0110T represents a focused sensory threshold testing procedure that quantifies sensation and pain thresholds for non-pressure, non-vibration, non-thermal stimuli on an extremity to help diagnose peripheral nervous system disorders such as sensory nerve damage. This code captures a diagnostic assessment distinct from common thermal or vibration testing and is used where quantification of sensory deficits informs clinical decision-making. Nationally, accurate coding and documentation for sensory testing affect clinical reporting, diagnostic clarity, and payment adjudication for neurology and physiatry services.

Key payers included in the analysis are Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna Health, UnitedHealthcare, and Medicare. Readers will find a concise overview of clinical context for this test, typical sites of service, and the service type. The publication also summarizes payer coverage patterns and benchmarks where available, common modifier usage, and coding relationships relevant to billing and claims submission. Policy and reimbursement updates that impact coding, documentation expectations, and potential audit focus areas are summarized to give a national perspective on how this diagnostic service is handled across major payers.

This resource is intended to clarify clinical purpose, coding designation, and payer scope so billing professionals, clinicians, and policy analysts can interpret CPT code 0110T within a national reimbursement and clinical framework.

Billing Code Overview

CPT code 0110T describes a clinical sensory testing procedure in which the provider determines sensation and pain thresholds for stimuli other than pressure, vibration, cold, or heat on an extremity and compares results to normal values. The exam is performed to assess and quantify sensory function of an extremity for diagnosis of peripheral nervous system disorders such as sensory nerve damage.

Service type: Sensory threshold testing / quantitative sensory testing

Typical site of service: Outpatient clinic or ambulatory care setting; neurology or physical medicine clinics; specialty diagnostic centers

Clinical Context

A 54-year-old patient presents to a neurology outpatient clinic with progressive numbness and tingling in the right hand and forearm following an industrial forearm contusion three months earlier. The treating neurologist documents altered light touch and pinprick sensation in a radial nerve distribution and orders quantitative sensory testing to assess sensory thresholds on the affected extremity. The procedure is performed in the clinic or an outpatient electrodiagnostic laboratory. After informed consent, the clinician uses calibrated non-pressure, non-thermal stimulators to deliver graded tactile and nociceptive stimuli to defined sites on the extremity. Thresholds for detection and pain are recorded and compared to age- and limb-matched normative values to quantify sensory loss and to aid diagnosis of peripheral nerve injury versus neuropathy. Findings are documented in the medical record, incorporated into the diagnostic impression, and used to guide further testing (for example nerve conduction studies, EMG) and treatment planning.

Coding Specifications

Modifier	Description	When to Use
`22`	Increased procedural services	Use when the test requires substantially greater effort or time than usual due to complexity.
`23`

Taxonomy Code	Specialty	Notes
2084P0800X	Neurology	Neurologists commonly order and interpret quantitative sensory testing for peripheral neuropathy or nerve injury.
207L00000X	Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation	PM&R physicians perform and interpret sensory quantification as part of functional assessments.
2086S0102X	Pain Medicine	Pain specialists use sensory threshold testing for neuropathic pain characterization.
363LP2300X	Neurophysiology Technologist	Technologists often perform the technical component under physician supervision.
207K00000X	Orthopedic Surgery	Orthopedic surgeons may use testing in pre- or postoperative evaluation of extremity nerve injuries.

Related Diagnoses

ICD-10 Code	Description	Clinical Relevance
`G56.1`	Lesion of ulnar nerve	Ulnar nerve injury can produce focal sensory threshold changes on the affected upper extremity assessed by this procedure.
`G56.0`	Carpal tunnel syndrome	Median neuropathy at the wrist commonly prompts quantitative sensory testing for sensory deficit quantification.
`G62.9`	Polyneuropathy, unspecified	Diffuse neuropathies present with altered sensory thresholds across extremities and are evaluated using this test.
`M79.2`	Neuralgia and neuritis, unspecified	Localized neuritis or neuralgia may require sensory threshold mapping to document sensory dysfunction.
`G54.0`	Brachial plexus disorders	Brachial plexus injury produces segmental sensory loss that can be quantified with non-pressure sensory testing.

Related CPT Codes

CPT Code	Description	Relationship to This Procedure
`95900`	Short-latency somatosensory evoked potential study (objectified by waveform analysis)	May be ordered alongside sensory threshold testing to evaluate central conduction when peripheral sensory deficits are detected.
`95907`	Needle electromyography; 1 extremity with or without related paraspinal areas	Often performed after abnormal sensory thresholds to assess for concomitant motor involvement and localization of peripheral nerve lesions.
`95831`	Nerve conduction, amplitude and latency/velocity study, each nerve; motor	Nerve conduction studies are commonly performed before or after sensory threshold testing to quantify peripheral nerve function.
`95903`	Short-latency somatosensory evoked potential study; periphery to cervical or thoracic	Used when further conduction pathway assessment is needed following abnormal peripheral sensory testing.
`99070`	Supplies and materials (except spectacles), unlisted items, services; non-covered supplies used in testing	May be reported when specialized calibrated stimulators or disposable testing materials are separately billable under payer rules.

OpenPayer

Summary & Overview