Which code describes a history of a malignant primary neoplasm of the bladder?

Which code describes a history of a malignant primary neoplasm of the bladder?

• A. Z85.51
• B. Z11.8
• C. Z62.819
• D. Z74.09

Answer: (A)

Documenting a history of cancer uses a personal history code (Z85.*). This distinguishes a past cancer from an active cancer. For bladder cancer, the appropriate code indicates that the patient previously had a malignant neoplasm of the bladder, not that the cancer is currently active. That code is Z85.51, which specifically identifies a personal history of malignant neoplasm of the bladder. If the cancer were active now, the coding would point to a primary cancer code for the bladder (not a history code). The other codes in the list do not convey a past cancer history, so they don’t fit the scenario.

Documenting a history of cancer uses a personal history code (Z85.*). This distinguishes a past cancer from an active cancer. For bladder cancer, the appropriate code indicates that the patient previously had a malignant neoplasm of the bladder, not that the cancer is currently active. That code is Z85.51, which specifically identifies a personal history of malignant neoplasm of the bladder. If the cancer were active now, the coding would point to a primary cancer code for the bladder (not a history code). The other codes in the list do not convey a past cancer history, so they don’t fit the scenario.