New ICD 10 Codes for Long Haul Covid in Detroit

Different Types of long-haul covid syndromes that we see in our Plum Health clinic in Detroit

Many patients have been dealing with the fallout from their previous COVID 19 infections. Many of us know the symptoms of Coronavirus or COVID 19 infection - muscle aches, weakness, loss of taste, loss of smell, headaches, difficulty breathing, nasal congestion, and more.

However, not that many people know that COVID 19 can cause residual symptoms or lingering symptoms that can lasts for weeks, months, or even years after the initial COVID 19 infection. Patients can experience long-haul covid as residual covid symptoms like fatigue, muscle aches, muscle weakness, brain fog, etc..

Some patients can experience long-haul covid as POTS or Postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS). With POTS, patients can have heart palpitations or rapid heart beats, they can become easily fatigued even after doing low or moderate intensity tasks, fainting or losing consciousness, or shaking and sweating. We’ve seen a handful of patients in our Plum Health DPC clinic with long-haul covid that presents as POTS.

Finally, we have had a few patients in our Plum Health clinic here in Detroit present with long-haul covid that presents as ME/CFS or Myalgic Encephalomyelitis/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. First, myalgic encephalomyelitis and chronic fatigue syndrome are commonly used labels for the same condition, so the names can be used interchangeably. I think these disease labels are combined with a slash to avoid confusion. Either way, ME/CFS is a condition that presents with a lot of fatigue or tiredness, difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much, pain, and often times brain fog. Symptoms are worsened when patients exert themselves - even a task like folding laundry can trigger profound fatigue.

ICD-10 codes for different long-haul covid syndromes

That being said, the ICD 10 or International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision, just released disease classifications for long-haul covid. See below, a tweet from Alexis N. Misko or @turnoftheshrew on Twitter:

Here’s a tweet from Alexis N. Misko or @turnoftheshrew on Twitter that shows the ICD 10 codes for different long-haul covid syndromes.

Those ICD-10 Codes are as follows:

• U09.9 - Post-covid conditions unspecified

• G90.A - POTS

• G93.32 - ME/CFS

We take care of People with COVID 19 at Plum Health DPC

At Plum Health DPC, we take care of patients of all ages and stages. We also take care of patients who have Covid 19 or Coronavirus. We offer curb-side COVID 19 PCR testing and we also have antibody testing in the office. We have taken care of several patients with long-haul covid symptoms and as discussed above, we take care of patients with COVID who have POTS and ME/CFS presentations. We know that the mental, physical, emotional, and psychological strain of COVID 19 can be difficult to handle, so we pride ourselves on offering comprehensive care and timely referrals for folks who are struggling with long-haul COVID syndrome.

-Paul Thomas, MD with Plum Health DPC