Ingrown Nail M001

Changes from Previous Instruments:

ICD coding:

ICD-10-AM: L60.0

Brief description:

This is a disease where the nail of a toe or finger penetrates the soft tissues surrounding the nail, leading to inflammation. 

Confirming the diagnosis:

To confirm the diagnosis there needs to be evidence of clinical signs of an ingrown nail.

General practitioners usually diagnose ingrown nails. It is rare but for complex cases, general surgeons, orthopaedic surgeons or dermatologists may be required to be involved. 

Clinical onset

The clinical onset will be when the clinical signs consistent with an ingrown nail first occurs. The condition can affect different nails and occur episodically, so onset will be when the current episode first manifest in the affected nail, rather than at the time of any earlier resolved episode in the same or another nail. 

Clinical worsening

When considering any issues concerning possible clinical worsening, it is important to ascertain whether the clinical worsening is out of keeping with the natural history of the underlying pathology. In the case of ingrown nails, the condition has a tendency to be chronic with episodic flare ups. The appropriate treatment is to relieve the causal factor, and if necessary, excise the segment of the nail which is prone to ingrowing.