Musculoskeletal System§ 4.71aUpdated
Rating criteria

VA Diagnostic Code 5005Arthritis, pneumococcic

Rated under § 4.71a. No rating levels have been extracted for this code yet — use the official source.

View official source

Not the right code?

In short

Summary

With the types of arthritis, diagnostic codes 5004 through 5009, rate the acute phase under diagnostic code 5002; rate any chronic residuals under diagnostic code 5003.

The ladder

What each rating requires

The VA assigns the highest level your evidence actually supports. Read up the stack until your records stop matching.

No rating levels extracted yet

This code has no itemised criteria in our copy of the schedule. Use the official source link for the controlling text.

From the schedule

Notes on this code

These notes are part of the regulation. They change how the levels above are applied.

  • Note (2): With the types of arthritis, diagnostic codes 5004 through 5009, rate the acute phase under diagnostic code 5002; rate any chronic residuals under diagnostic code 5003.

Pneumococcic Arthritis (VA Diagnostic Code 5005)

Understanding This Condition and How the VA Rates It

Body System: Musculoskeletal System Diagnostic Code: 5005 Regulation: 38 CFR § 4.71a


What This Condition Is

Pneumococcic arthritis is a type of arthritis addressed under the VA's musculoskeletal rating schedule. It falls within a group of arthritis conditions covered by diagnostic codes 5004 through 5009.

How the VA Rates It

Because pneumococcic arthritis is one of the arthritis types listed under diagnostic codes 5004 through 5009, the VA does not use a stand-alone rating formula for code 5005 itself. Instead, it is evaluated in two parts:

  • Acute phase — rated under diagnostic code 5002.
  • Chronic residuals — rated under diagnostic code 5003.

This means the VA looks at where the condition currently stands — whether it is in an active, acute stage or whether it has left lasting effects — and applies the appropriate related diagnostic code accordingly.

What the VA Looks For

When evaluating pneumococcic arthritis, the VA considers:

  • The phase of the condition. An active, acute phase is rated using the criteria under diagnostic code 5002.
  • Any chronic residuals. Lasting effects that remain after the acute phase are rated using the criteria under diagnostic code 5003.

Note (2): With the types of arthritis, diagnostic codes 5004 through 5009, rate the acute phase under diagnostic code 5002; rate any chronic residuals under diagnostic code 5003.

This information is provided for general educational purposes and reflects the VA rating schedule under 38 CFR § 4.71a. Individual evaluations depend on the specifics of each case.

These criteria are a rendering of § 4.71a, diagnostic code 5005. The official version is the one that governs your rating.

View official source
What next

How to claim this

Knowing the criteria is the first half. Getting your file to show them is the second.

  1. Find your level in the stack

    Read each rung against what your medical records already say. The level your records document today is the one the VA can support today.

  2. Name the gap

    Look at the rung above yours and write down exactly what it asks for that your file does not show yet — a diagnosis, a measurement, a prescribed brace, a doctor’s opinion linking it to service.

  3. Claim it by code

    File under diagnostic code 5005 and attach the evidence for the level you are asking for. Other Musculoskeletal System codes may cover your secondary conditions.

Find out which rating your evidence supports.

Six reads your records against these exact criteria and tells you what the VA is still missing.

Start for freeAll 159 Musculoskeletal System codes