Vitamin A deficiency with night blindness

This code represents a nutritional deficiency specifically involving vitamin A, which manifests as impaired vision in low light conditions. Night blindness, or nyctalopia, is a characteristic symptom indicating the eye's inability to adapt to darkness due to insufficient rhodopsin production, a process dependent on vitamin A.

Apply this code when documentation clearly indicates a diagnosis of vitamin A deficiency and explicitly links it to the symptom of night blindness. This typically occurs in patients with malabsorption syndromes, dietary restrictions, or chronic liver disease. Supporting documentation should include physician notes detailing the deficiency and the presence of nyctalopia.

• Ensure documentation specifies both vitamin A deficiency and night blindness; if only deficiency is noted, a more general code may be appropriate.
• Do not use this code for other forms of vision impairment unless night blindness due to vitamin A deficiency is explicitly stated.
• Consider sequencing this code as a primary diagnosis if it is the main reason for the encounter, or as a secondary diagnosis if it's a co-morbidity impacting treatment.