M34.8: Other forms of systemic sclerosis

You have systemic sclerosis.

With systemic scleroderma, the body produces too many connective tissue proteins. The connective tissue thickens and hardens as a result. This is probably caused by the body’s immune system. There is connective tissue all over the body. There is connective tissue beneath the skin and around muscles and organs, for example. Muscles and organs have connective tissue, too. The disorder can affect certain parts of the body or the body as a whole.

Systemic sclerosis can involve changes to the skin and joint problems. The skin may be unusually hard. It may be harder to move your joints, or movements may be painful. This disorder can also affect internal organs. The connective tissue in your lungs or your oesophagus might have thickened, for example. The blood vessels in your fingers might also contract more than usual in the cold. So the fingers turn white or blue.

Additional indicator

On medical documents, the ICD code is often appended by letters that indicate the diagnostic certainty or the affected side of the body.

  • G: Confirmed diagnosis
  • V: Tentative diagnosis
  • Z: Condition after
  • A: Excluded diagnosis
  • L: Left
  • R: Right
  • B: Both sides

Further information

Note

This information is not intended for self-diagnosis and does not replace professional medical advice from a doctor. If you find an ICD code on a personal medical document, please also note the additional indicator used for diagnostic confidence.
Your doctor will assist you with any health-related questions and explain the ICD diagnosis code to you in a direct consultation if necessary.

Source

Provided by the non-profit organization “Was hab’ ich?” gemeinnützige GmbH on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG).