Which descriptor is listed without an associated ICD-10-CM code in the material?

• A. Mild, depressed
• B. Mild, manic
• C. Moderate, manic
• D. Severe, depressed

Answer: (D)

Understanding mood disorder coding: severity terms are not standalone codes. In ICD-10-CM, you assign a complete diagnosis that includes the disorder type (for example, a depressive or bipolar disorder) and then add a severity specifier. The material’s mappings for mild, depressed and mild, manic or moderate, manic show that these phrases align with specific, codable combinations once the disorder type is defined. The descriptor “severe, depressed” on its own doesn’t map to a single ICD-10-CM code in that material because you’d need to specify the underlying disorder (such as major depressive disorder) and any features or episode details to form a precise code. So that descriptor is listed without its own code, whereas the others fit into codable combinations with the disorder type.