ICD-10-CM Code For Retarded Development Following Protein Calorie Malnutrition: Group Overview

The International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-10-CM) code group E45 includes conditions characterized by developmental delay and growth retardation resulting from chronic protein-calorie malnutrition, encompassing failure to thrive and global developmental impairment associated with long-term nutritional deficiency. These ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes are used to document clinical scenarios where malnutrition has produced measurable impacts on growth, neurodevelopment, and functional status, capturing disease severity and nutritional complications. Accurate coding within the ICD-10-CM E45 group supports complete clinical documentation and appropriate reimbursement.

Customize your policy alerts

Sign up for ICD-10-CM Code For Retarded Development Following Protein Calorie Malnutrition: Group Overview policy alerts

Get alerted when relevant policies change without checking for updates manually.

Monitor payer policy activity

Receive email alerts as soon as relevant payer policies are published or updated.

ICD-10-CM E45: Retarded Development Following Protein-Calorie Malnutrition Overview

The diagnoses in this group represent developmental delay and growth retardation occurring as a consequence of chronic protein-calorie malnutrition, affecting physical and neurodevelopmental systems. These conditions primarily impact pediatric growth and developmental milestones but can be relevant in adults with long-standing severe nutritional deficiency. Accurate coding matters for documenting clinical severity, coordinating supportive services, and securing appropriate reimbursement for nutrition-focused care.

When to Use

Assign a code from this group when clinical documentation attributes growth delay or developmental impairment to prolonged protein-calorie malnutrition, and there is evidence linking nutritional status to the developmental findings. Use these codes to reflect severity of malnutrition-related developmental impact for care planning and claims when documentation supports the association.

ICD-10-CM Codes

1 rows

ICD-10-CM Code	Description
E45	Retarded development following protein-calorie malnutrition

DRG Codes

2 rows

DRG Code	Description
640	Miscellaneous Disorders of Nutrition, Metabolism, Fluids and Electrolytes with MCC
641	Miscellaneous Disorders of Nutrition, Metabolism, Fluids and Electrolytes without MCC

Typical Clinical Scenarios

An older child with a history of prolonged inadequate dietary intake and weight faltering presents for developmental evaluation after caregivers report delayed speech, poor motor milestones, and slowed growth over many months. The child has stunted growth, pallor, and cognitive delays attributed to chronic protein-calorie undernutrition causing global developmental retardation; the diagnosis from this group is assigned as the underlying nutritional cause of the developmental impairment. Typical codes: E45
An adult survivor of severe famine or chronic socioeconomic food insecurity is evaluated in an outpatient clinic for persistent cognitive slowing, apathy, and reduced functional status that began in childhood but persists into adulthood; the team documents lifelong deficits in learning and adaptive functioning related to early-life protein-calorie malnutrition, so a code from this group is used to indicate retarded development due to malnutrition. Typical codes: E45
A medically complex pediatric patient recovering from an extended hospitalization for malabsorptive enteropathy now demonstrates ongoing lag in growth and neurodevelopment compared with peers; during multidisciplinary discharge planning the diagnostic record lists developmental retardation attributable to prior protein-calorie malnutrition as a comorbidity affecting rehabilitation planning, and a code from this group is assigned. Typical codes: E45

Related Codes

E40-KWASHIORKOR

ICD-10-CM Code For Kwashiorkor: Group Overview

E41-NUTRITIONAL-MARASMUS

ICD-10-CM Code For Nutritional Marasmus: Group Overview

E42-MARASMIC-KWASHIORKOR

ICD-10-CM Code For Marasmic Kwashiorkor: Group Overview

E43-UNSPECIFIED-SEVERE-PROTEIN-CALORIE-MALNUTRITION

ICD-10-CM Code For Unspecified Severe Protein-Calorie Malnutrition: Group Overview

E44-PROTEIN-CALORIE-MALNUTRITION

ICD-10-CM Code For Protein-Calorie Malnutrition Of Moderate And Mild Degree: Group Overview

E46-UNSPECIFIED-PROTEIN-CALORIE-MALNUTRITION

ICD-10-CM Code For Unspecified Protein-Calorie Malnutrition: 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.

Trek Health ingests and normalizes Transparency in Coverage data and payer policy updates to give provider organizations a clear view of how commercial reimbursement behaves across markets, payers, and services. Our platform transforms raw payer disclosures into structured intelligence that supports contract evaluation, payer negotiations, and service line strategy. By combining market benchmarks with ongoing policy visibility, Trek helps teams identify variability, risk, and opportunity in commercial reimbursement. The result is faster insight, stronger negotiating positions, and more informed financial decisions.

Explore openpayer tools

View all tools

When to Use

ICD-10-CM Codes

1 rows

ICD-10-CM Code	Description
E45	Retarded development following protein-calorie malnutrition

DRG Codes

2 rows

DRG Code	Description
640	Miscellaneous Disorders of Nutrition, Metabolism, Fluids and Electrolytes with MCC
641	Miscellaneous Disorders of Nutrition, Metabolism, Fluids and Electrolytes without MCC

Typical Clinical Scenarios

An older child with a history of prolonged inadequate dietary intake and weight faltering presents for developmental evaluation after caregivers report delayed speech, poor motor milestones, and slowed growth over many months. The child has stunted growth, pallor, and cognitive delays attributed to chronic protein-calorie undernutrition causing global developmental retardation; the diagnosis from this group is assigned as the underlying nutritional cause of the developmental impairment. Typical codes: E45
An adult survivor of severe famine or chronic socioeconomic food insecurity is evaluated in an outpatient clinic for persistent cognitive slowing, apathy, and reduced functional status that began in childhood but persists into adulthood; the team documents lifelong deficits in learning and adaptive functioning related to early-life protein-calorie malnutrition, so a code from this group is used to indicate retarded development due to malnutrition. Typical codes: E45
A medically complex pediatric patient recovering from an extended hospitalization for malabsorptive enteropathy now demonstrates ongoing lag in growth and neurodevelopment compared with peers; during multidisciplinary discharge planning the diagnostic record lists developmental retardation attributable to prior protein-calorie malnutrition as a comorbidity affecting rehabilitation planning, and a code from this group is assigned. Typical codes: E45

Related Codes

E40-KWASHIORKOR

ICD-10-CM Code For Kwashiorkor: Group Overview

E41-NUTRITIONAL-MARASMUS

ICD-10-CM Code For Nutritional Marasmus: Group Overview

E42-MARASMIC-KWASHIORKOR

ICD-10-CM Code For Marasmic Kwashiorkor: Group Overview

E43-UNSPECIFIED-SEVERE-PROTEIN-CALORIE-MALNUTRITION

ICD-10-CM Code For Unspecified Severe Protein-Calorie Malnutrition: Group Overview

E44-PROTEIN-CALORIE-MALNUTRITION

ICD-10-CM Code For Protein-Calorie Malnutrition Of Moderate And Mild Degree: Group Overview

E46-UNSPECIFIED-PROTEIN-CALORIE-MALNUTRITION

ICD-10-CM Code For Unspecified Protein-Calorie Malnutrition: 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 Retarded Development Following Protein Calorie Malnutrition: Group Overview

Sign up for ICD-10-CM Code For Retarded Development Following Protein Calorie Malnutrition: Group Overview policy alerts

ICD-10-CM E45: Retarded Development Following Protein-Calorie Malnutrition Overview

ICD-10-CM Code For Retarded Development Following Protein Calorie Malnutrition: Group Overview

Sign up for ICD-10-CM Code For Retarded Development Following Protein Calorie Malnutrition: Group Overview policy alerts

ICD-10-CM E45: Retarded Development Following Protein-Calorie Malnutrition Overview

When to Use

ICD-10-CM Codes

DRG Codes

Typical Clinical Scenarios

Related Codes

What conditions does the ICD-10-CM group `E45` cover?

Who is primarily affected by diagnoses in `E45`?

Why is accurate coding within `E45` important for clinical documentation?

Which related DRGs are associated with the `E45` diagnosis group?

What aspects of patient status does `E45` aim to capture for coding and reimbursement?

References

When to Use

ICD-10-CM Codes

DRG Codes

Typical Clinical Scenarios

Related Codes

What conditions does the ICD-10-CM group `E45` cover?

Who is primarily affected by diagnoses in `E45`?

Why is accurate coding within `E45` important for clinical documentation?

Which related DRGs are associated with the `E45` diagnosis group?

What aspects of patient status does `E45` aim to capture for coding and reimbursement?

References