K56.0 — Paralytic ileus
K56.0 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code for paralytic ileus. It is valid for submission on a claim.
Excludes1 — never code together
These conditions cannot occur together. Billing both on the same encounter is a denial.
Inclusion terms
Alternative wordings a physician may use in the chart for this same code.
- Paralysis of bowel
- Paralysis of colon
- Paralysis of intestine
Excludes1 inherited from the categories above K56.0
These are not written on K56.0, but they bind it: a note on a category applies to every code beneath it. Billing K56.0 with anything listed here is a denial.
Written on K56 — Paralytic ileus and intestinal obstruction without hernia
Excludes2 inherited from the categories above K56.0
Also inherited, and the opposite of Excludes1: these conditions are not part of K56.0, but a patient can have both, so you may code both.
Other codes that can never be billed with K56.0
These codes carry an Excludes1 note pointing at K56.0. The conflict binds both ways, but ICD-10-CM only writes it down on one side — so you would not find this by reading K56.0 alone.
- P76.8Other specified intestinal obstruction of newborn
Risk adjustment
K56.0 risk-adjusts. Under the CMS-HCC V28 model it maps to this category:
- HCC 78 Intestinal Obstruction/Perforation0.326 RAF
Coefficient shown for the Community Non-dual Aged segment. A higher HCC in the same hierarchy will suppress this one, so capturing it does not always add score.
Medicare coverage
K56.0 is named in 12 Medicare coverage policies — 12 listing it as supporting medical necessity. Which of them applies to you depends on your Medicare contractor, and coverage genuinely differs by state.
- A55937Billing and Coding: Diagnostic Colonoscopy
- A56394Billing and Coding: Colonoscopy and Sigmoidoscopy-Diagnostic
- A56421Billing and Coding: CT of the Abdomen and Pelvis
- A56456Billing and Coding: Colonoscopy/Sigmoidoscopy/Proctosigmoidoscopy
How K56.0 is indexed
Coders do not find codes by browsing the tabular list — they look them up in the alphabetic index, under the word the physician wrote. These are the index entries that lead here, so you can see which chart wordings map to K56.0.
- Ileus›adynamic
- Ileus›neurogenic
- Ileus›paralytic
- Paralysis, paralytic›bowel, colon or intestine
- Paralysis, paralytic›colon
- Paralysis, paralytic›ileus
- Paralysis, paralytic›intestine
- Paresis›bowel, colon or intestine
- Obstruction, obstructed, obstructive›intestine›adynamic
- Obstruction, obstructed, obstructive›intestine›neurogenic
- Obstruction, obstructed, obstructive›intestine›reflex
Code history
K56.0 has not changed since FY2024 — no addition, revision or deletion across the three most recent ICD-10-CM releases.
Related codes at this level
Codes that share K56. If K56.0 is not quite right, the correct code is usually one of these.
Questions about K56.0
- Is K56.0 a billable ICD-10-CM code?
- Yes. K56.0 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code and is valid for submission on a claim.
- Where does K56.0 sit in the tabular list?
- Diseases of the digestive system (K00-K95), in the block Other diseases of intestines (K55-K64).
- What cannot be coded together with K56.0?
- K56.0 carries Excludes1 notes, which means the conditions they list can never be coded together with it on the same encounter. Some are written on the categories above K56.0 (K56) and apply to it just the same.