What are comorbidities?

[daz2009]

i h ave to answer a question in regards to a disases in : ways in which the pathology may affect comorbidities the client has?

i dont really understand what that entails? what do cormorbidities mean?

[Trishalishus, PhD, CNS]

A comorbidity is another illness or disease state. e.g. a person with Diabetes Mellitis Type 2 might also have hypertension, peripheral vascular disease, depression, etc. Hope that helped.

[libbyjeanne]

A comorbidity describes the effect of all other diseases an individual patient might have other than the primary disease of interest.

[classicdame, MSN, EdD]

Implication is that there are other things going on with the patient, other than the primary diagnosis, that might increase risks.

Someone comes in ER with multiple lacerations and bleeding - what if they also have bleeding or clotting disorders?

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

comorbidity is a medical records term that medical coders and health information management professionals use in the billing of a medical record. it is defined as a pre-existing medical condition that causes an increased stay in someone's hospital admission length of stay by at least one day in calculating drg reimbursement. a comorbidity can never be a principle diagnosis--the reason which was the cause for the patient to be hospitalized. this can be confusing because a medical condition that is a comorbidity during one admission can end up being a principle diagnosis (the reason for the patient's admission) on another admission.

the way nursing wants to use this term is that comorbidities influence the amount of care that we have to give the patient--make it more involved because the comorbidity can result in complications.