Filling ICD code on a death certificate

Using the skills and knowledge that you have acquired in Unit 2 of this module, identify the chapter, block and code for all the causes of death listed on the death certificate.

The ICD code for each cause of death should be filled against the particular cause of death in the death certificate.

Example 1 - Patient # 1 is admitted with sputum-positive, microscopically confirmed, pulmonary tuberculosis and dies in the ward.

Step 1 - The cause of death in a given death certificate is Sputum-positive                Pulmonary Tuberculosis

Step 2 - The chapter under which the cause of death falls into is Chapter I                   Certain infectious and parasitic diseases

Step 4 - Under this block, you will find Sputum-positive Pulmonary                 tuberculosis with the code A15  

Step 3 – In this chapter, look at block - " Tuberculosis "

Step 5 -The ICD code should be filled in the death certificate against the                 cause of death like below

Example 2 - Patient # 2 is admitted with Acute Gastroenteritis and dehydration and then dies in the ward

Death certificate with ICD code

Example 3 - Patient # 3 is brought with myocardial infarction and then develops arrythmia and heart failure and then dies in the Coronary Care Unit (CCU)

Death certificate with ICD code

Example 4 - Patient #4 aged 25 years was admitted to a hospital after being hit by a bus on road. She underwent surgery for severe head injury. She developed acute pulmonary embolism and died a week later. 

Death certificate with ICD code

Example 5 - Patient # 5 aged 30 years was diagnosed with Plasmodium vivax malaria. She was admitted to hospital. Later she developed anaemia, upper GI bleeding and died of acute renal failure.

Death certificate with ICD code

Example 6 - Patient # 6 aged 60 years was being treated for pneumonia in a hospital. He is a chronic smoker from past 25 years. This acute lung infection occurred on his underlying emphysema. His lung infection worsened and he finally expired.

Death certificate with ICD code

Why should all causes of death be coded?

It is important to assign ICD codes to not just the underlying cause of death but to all causes of death listed on the death certificate.

During tabulation of data, the government will collate all the codes for the underlying causes of death and use that to depict the disease burden in populations. 

However, hospitals in addition, can tabulate underlying and immediate (or intermediate) causes of deaths in order to be able to identify causal pathways for preventing avoidable causes of death.   

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