Tularemia, unspecified

This code represents tularemia, a zoonotic infectious disease caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis, when the specific clinical form or manifestation is not documented. It can present with various symptoms depending on the route of infection, including fever, skin ulcers, swollen lymph nodes, and pneumonia.

Use this code when a definitive diagnosis of tularemia has been established, but the medical record does not specify the clinical type (e.g., ulceroglandular, glandular, oculoglandular, oropharyngeal, pneumonic, typhoidal). This code is appropriate when the provider simply documents "tularemia" without further detail.

• Avoid using this code if a more specific clinical form of tularemia is documented; always strive for the highest level of specificity.
• Review documentation for terms like "ulceroglandular tularemia" or "pneumonic tularemia" which would lead to more specific codes.
• This code indicates an unspecified form, implying insufficient documentation to assign a more precise code within the A21 category.