Menu
H54.8

Legal blindness, as defined in USA

Instruction Source: H54.8

Legal blindness, as defined in USA

Excludes 1 (Mutually Exclusive)

  • legal blindness with specification of impairment level (H54.0-H54.7)

Clinical Notes

  • If the extent of the visual field is taken into account, patients with a field no greater than 10 but greater than 5 around central fixation should be placed in category 3 and patients with a field no greater than 5 around central fixation should be placed in category 4, even if the central acuity is not impaired.
  • The table below gives a classification of severity of visual impairment recommended by a WHO Study Group on the Prevention of Blindness, Geneva, 6-10 November 1972.
  • The term 'low vision' in category H54 comprises categories 1 and 2 of the table, the term 'blindness' categories 3, 4 and 5, and the term 'unqualified visual loss' category 9.
Instruction Source: H54

Blindness and low vision

Excludes 1 (Mutually Exclusive)

  • amaurosis fugax (G45.3)

Clinical Notes

  • For definition of visual impairment categories see table below
Instruction Source: H53-H54

Visual disturbances and blindness (H53-H54)

Instruction Source: H00-H59

Diseases of the eye and adnexa

Excludes 2 (Not Included Here)

  • certain conditions originating in the perinatal period (P04-P96)
  • certain infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99)
  • complications of pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (O00-O9A)
  • congenital malformations, deformations, and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99)
  • diabetes mellitus related eye conditions (E09.3-, E10.3-, E11.3-, E13.3-)
  • endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E88)
  • injury (trauma) of eye and orbit (S05.-)
  • injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00-T88)
  • neoplasms (C00-D49)
  • symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R94)
  • syphilis related eye disorders (A50.01, A50.3-, A51.43, A52.71)

Clinical Notes

  • Use an external cause code following the code for the eye condition, if applicable, to identify the cause of the eye condition
← View H54.8 in Tabular List