ICD-Code R53.0: Chronic fatigue with mention of post-exertional malaise (PEM)

You have persistent fatigue. Your symptoms worsen after exertion.

The worsening of symptoms following exertion is also known as post-exertional malaise. Symptoms can deteriorate following both physical and mental effort. Typically, even minimal exertion is sufficient to trigger this. The deterioration occurs either immediately or after a delay.

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

The explanation of the ICD code was provided by the non-profit organization “Was hab’ ich?” gemeinnützige GmbH on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Health (BMG).