- Diagnostic Code
- 7356
- CFR Section
- §4.114 — Digestive
Rating Tiers
Requiring complete dependence on total parenteral nutrition (TPN) or continuous tube feeding for nutritional support
Requiring intermittent tube feeding for nutritional support; with recurrent emergency treatment for episodes of intestinal obstruction or regurgitation due to poor gastric emptying, abdominal pain, recurrent nausea, or recurrent vomiting
With symptoms of chronic intestinal pseudo-obstruction (CIPO) or symptoms of intestinal motility disorder, including but not limited to, abdominal pain, bloating, feeling of epigastric fullness, dyspepsia, nausea and vomiting, regurgitation, constipation, and diarrhea, managed by ambulatory care; and requiring prescribed dietary management or manipulation
Intermittent abdominal pain with epigastric fullness associated with bloating; and without evidence of a structural gastrointestinal disease
What Raters Look For
Based on M21-1 adjudication criteria for Digestive conditions. These are the factors a VA rater evaluates when assigning a rating percentage.
M21-1 III.iv.4.D- •Weight loss — documented weight changes in treatment records
- •Frequency and severity of symptoms: pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea
- •Dietary restrictions required due to the condition
- •Need for surgical intervention, feeding tubes, or colostomy
- •Imaging and endoscopy findings (scope reports, biopsy results)
- •Hepatic function if liver disease is involved: bilirubin, albumin, INR, Child-Pugh score