Screening examination for filariasis

This code signifies a preventive health encounter focused on detecting the presence of filarial parasites in individuals who are not currently exhibiting symptoms. It represents a screening effort to identify asymptomatic infections with filarial worms, which can cause diseases like lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis) or onchocerciasis (river blindness).

This code is appropriate for encounters where a patient undergoes testing for filariasis as part of a public health initiative, travel screening, or routine check-up in an endemic area, without any reported signs or symptoms of the disease. It would be used when the primary purpose of the visit is to screen for the infection, rather than to diagnose or treat an active case.

• Always assign this code as a primary diagnosis when the encounter's sole purpose is screening for filariasis.
• Do not use this code if the patient presents with symptoms suggestive of filariasis; in such cases, a definitive diagnosis code should be sought.
• Consider adding a Z11.1 (Encounter for screening for other bacterial diseases) or Z11.8 (Encounter for screening for other infectious and parasitic diseases) from ICD-10-CM if transitioning to the newer code set, as there is no direct one-to-one mapping for this specific screening.