miscellaneous laboratory procedures and hepatitis tests

Changes in the 1998 CPT

 The following new codes have been added to the laboratory section of the 1998 CPT.
miscellaneous laboratory procedures

• 80201 TOPIRAMATE
• 83019 H. PYLORI BREATH TEST: (including drug and breath sample collection kit)
• 84512 TROPONIN: qualitative
• 86148 ANTI-PHOSPHATIDYLSERINE: (Phospholipid)
• 86361 T CELLS: absolute CD4 count

automated test panels

• 80049 BASIC METABOLIC PANEL
• 80054 COMPREHENSIVE METABOLIC PANEL
• 80051 ELECTROLYTE PANEL

Coding rules and medical necessity documentation requirements for automated tests and automated test panels are discussed under New Automated Multichannel Tests.
hepatitis tests

• 86704 HEPATITIS B CORE ANTIBODY: IgG and IgM
• 86705 HEPATITIS B CORE ANTIBODY: IgM
• 86706 HEPATITIS B SURFACE ANTIBODY
• 86707 HEPATITIS Be ANTIBODY
• 86708 HEPATITIS A ANTIBODY: IgG and IgM
• 86709 HEPATITIS A ANTIBODY: IgM
• 86803 HEPATITIS C ANTIBODY
• 86804 HEPATITIS C ANTIBODY: confirmatory test

infectious agent antigens
An extensive new section covering the detection and quantification of infection agent antigens by various methods has been added under "Microbiology" in the Laboratory section of the CPT. These codes replace the following general method codes, which have been deleted.

• 86313 IMMUNOASSAY FOR INFECTIOUS AGENT ANTIGEN: qualitative, multiple-step method
• 86315 IMMUNOASSAY FOR INFECTIOUS AGENT ANTIGEN: qualitative, single-step method

The new codes are organized under the following seven methods:

• (a) detection by direct fluorescent antibody technique;
• (b) detection by enzyme immunoassay technique, qualitative or semiquantitative multistep method;
• (c) detection by enzyme immunoassay technique, qualitative or semiquantitative, single-step method;
• (d) detection by nucleic acid (DNA or RNA), direct probe technique;
• (e) detection by nucleic acid (DNA or RNA), amplified probe technique;
• (f) detection by nucleic acid (DNA or RNA), quantification; and
• (g) detection by immunoassay with direct optical observation.

The following individual CPT codes have been assigned to specific infectious agents under each method category. A general purpose code for unspecified agents is also included for each method.
INFECTIOUS AGENT ANTIGEN DETECTION BY DIRECT FLUORESCENT ANTIBODY TECHNIQUE: qualitative or semiquantitative, multistep method

• 87260 Adenovirus
• 87265 Bordetella pertussis or parapertussis
• 87270 Chlamydia trachomatis
• 87272 Cryptosporidum/giardia
• 87274 Herpes simplex virus
• 87276 Influenza A virus
• 87278 Legionella pneumophila
• 87280 Respiratory syncytial virus
• 87285 Treponema pallidum
• 87290 Varicella zoster
• 87299 Not otherwise specified