A patient is admitted with pneumonia. Cultures are requested to determine the infecting organism. Which of the following, if present, would alert the coder to ask the physician whether or not this should be coded as gram-negative pneumonia?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Pseudomonas is a gram-negative bacteria, while Clostridium, Staphylococcus, and Listeria are gram-positive. Therefore, the presence of Pseudomonas would suggest the need to clarify whether the pneumonia is gram-negative.

A Patient Is Admitted with Pneumonia