Poisoning by insulins and antidiabetic agents

This code signifies an adverse health event resulting from the toxic effects of insulin or other medications used to manage diabetes. This includes accidental overdose, intentional self-harm, or therapeutic misadventures leading to harmful physiological responses. The poisoning can manifest as severe hypoglycemia, hyperglycemia, or other systemic effects.

Apply this code when documentation clearly indicates a patient's condition is due to an overdose or adverse reaction to insulin, oral hypoglycemic agents, or other antidiabetic drugs. This is appropriate for scenarios such as a patient mistakenly taking too much insulin, a child ingesting a parent's antidiabetic medication, or a suicide attempt involving these agents.

• Always code the specific manifestation of the poisoning (e.g., hypoglycemia, coma) as a primary diagnosis, with this code as a secondary diagnosis indicating the cause.
• Distinguish between adverse effects in therapeutic use (which would use E-codes for adverse effects of drugs in therapeutic use) and true poisoning/overdose.
• Ensure documentation specifies the drug involved and the intent (accidental, intentional, undetermined) for appropriate E-code assignment.