keratitis

DEFINITION of keratitis

Keratitis is an inflammatory condition of the cornea — the clear, dome-shaped front surface of the eye — that can involve the epithelium, stroma, or endothelium depending on the type and causative agent. It may be infectious (bacterial, viral, fungal, or parasitic) or non-infectious (autoimmune, exposure-related, UV-induced, or neurotrophic). Symptoms typically include eye pain, photophobia, tearing, blurred vision, and a foreign-body sensation. Severe or untreated keratitis can progress to corneal ulceration, scarring, perforation, and permanent vision loss. It is one of the leading causes of preventable corneal blindness worldwide.

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ETYMOLOGY of keratitis

greek “Keratitis” derives from the Greek keras (κέρας), meaning “horn” — a reference to the horn-like transparency and hardness of the cornea. The suffix -itis is from Greek -itis, meaning “inflammation of.” Together: “inflammation of the cornea.” The kerat- root appears throughout ophthalmologic terminology wherever the cornea is involved.

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ICD-10-CM CODES — Category H16

All codes below require a final digit specifying laterality: 1 = right eye, 2 = left eye, 3 = bilateral, 9 = unspecified eye.

Corneal Ulcer (H16.0x) H16.001-H16.009 — Unspecified corneal ulcer H16.011-H16.013 — Central corneal ulcer H16.021-H16.029 — Ring corneal ulcer H16.031-H16.039 — Corneal ulcer with hypopyon H16.041-H16.049 — Marginal corneal ulcer H16.051-H16.059 — Mooren’s corneal ulcer H16.061-H16.069 — Mycotic (fungal) corneal ulcer H16.071-H16.079 — Perforated corneal ulcer

Superficial Keratitis Without Conjunctivitis (H16.1x) H16.101-H16.109 — Unspecified superficial keratitis H16.111-H16.119 — Macular keratitis H16.121-H16.129 — Filamentary keratitis H16.131-H16.139 — Photokeratitis (UV/arc eye/snow blindness) H16.141-H16.149 — Punctate keratitis (SPK)

Keratoconjunctivitis (H16.2x) H16.201-H16.209 — Unspecified keratoconjunctivitis H16.211-H16.219 — Exposure keratoconjunctivitis H16.221-H16.229 — Keratoconjunctivitis sicca, not specified as Sjögren’s H16.231-H16.239]] — Neurotrophic keratoconjunctivitis H16.241-H16.249 — Ophthalmia nodosa H16.251-H16.259 — Phlyctenular keratoconjunctivitis H16.261-H16.269 — Vernal keratoconjunctivitis with limbar and corneal involvement H16.291-H16.299 — Other keratoconjunctivitis

Interstitial & Deep Keratitis (H16.3x) H16.301-H16.309 — Unspecified interstitial keratitis H16.311-H16.319 — Corneal abscess H16.321-H16.329 — Diffuse interstitial keratitis H16.331-H16.339 — Sclerosing keratitis H16.391-H16.399 — Other interstitial and deep keratitis

Corneal Neovascularization (H16.4x) (sequela of/associated with keratitis) H16.401-H16.409 — Unspecified corneal neovascularization H16.411-H16.419 — Ghost vessels (corneal) H16.421-H16.429 — Pannus (corneal) H16.431-H16.439 — Localized vascularization of cornea H16.441-H16.449 — Deep vascularization of cornea

Other/Unspecified H16.8 — Other keratitis H16.9 — Unspecified keratitis

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RELEVANT CPT CODES

65430 — Scraping of cornea for smear and/or culture 65435 — Removal of corneal epithelium (chemical or physical means), with or without chemocauterization 65600 — Multiple punctures of anterior cornea (e.g., for recurrent erosion or superficial keratitis) 65710 — Keratoplasty (corneal transplant) — lamellar 65730 — Keratoplasty — penetrating, except in aphakia or pseudophakia 65750 — Keratoplasty — penetrating, in aphakia 65755 — Keratoplasty — penetrating, in pseudophakia 65756 — Endothelial keratoplasty (DSEK/DMEK) 65771 — Radial keratotomy 92025 — Corneal topography 92285 — External ocular photography (to document corneal findings)

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💡 CODING TIPS

When the physician documents herpetic keratitis, verify whether it is HSV (herpes simplex) or HZV (herpes zoster) — both require an additional code from the B00.x or B02.x series as the underlying cause, and the keratitis code is sequenced as an additional diagnosis. For example, HSV keratoconjunctivitis would pair B00.52 with the appropriate H16.2xx code. Similarly, acanthamoeba keratitis should be coded with B60.13 as the primary causative organism. Corneal ulcer with hypopyon (H16.03x) is a red flag for aggressive infection and often warrants concurrent culture codes. Always check laterality — unspecified eye (x9) should only be used when the record genuinely does not specify.

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DERIVATIONS of keratitis

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Query functionality

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Med roots Appendix A Prefixes Appendix B Combining Forms Appendix C Suffixes Appendix D Suffix forms