VA Diagnostic Code 9300Delirium

Delirium (VA Diagnostic Code 9300)

Body System: Mental Disorders • 38 CFR § 4.130 • Rated under the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders

Understanding Delirium and How the VA Rates It

Delirium is a mental disorder listed under Diagnostic Code 9300 in the VA's rating schedule. Like other mental health conditions, it is evaluated under the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders found in 38 CFR § 4.130.

Under this formula, the VA does not assign a rating based on a diagnosis alone. Instead, it looks at how much your symptoms affect your ability to function at work and in your social and personal life. Ratings are assigned in levels, and each level reflects a different degree of occupational and social impairment.

Available Rating Levels

The following rating percentages may apply, depending on the severity and impact of your symptoms:

100% — Total Occupational and Social Impairment

Assigned when there is total occupational and social impairment, due to such symptoms as:

• Gross impairment in thought processes or communication
• Persistent delusions or hallucinations
• Grossly inappropriate behavior
• Persistent danger of hurting self or others
• Intermittent inability to perform activities of daily living (including maintenance of minimal personal hygiene)
• Disorientation to time or place
• Memory loss for names of close relatives, own occupation, or own name

70% — Deficiencies in Most Areas

Assigned for occupational and social impairment, with deficiencies in most areas such as work, school, family relations, judgment, thinking, or mood, due to such symptoms as:

• Suicidal ideation
• Obsessional rituals which interfere with routine activities
• Speech intermittently illogical, obscure, or irrelevant
• Near-continuous panic or depression affecting the ability to function independently, appropriately, and effectively
• Impaired impulse control (such as unprovoked irritability with periods of violence)
• Spatial disorientation
• Neglect of personal appearance and hygiene
• Difficulty in adapting to stressful circumstances (including work or a worklike setting)
• Inability to establish and maintain effective relationships

50% — Reduced Reliability and Productivity

Assigned for occupational and social impairment with reduced reliability and productivity, due to such symptoms as:

• Flattened affect
• Circumstantial, circumlocutory, or stereotyped speech
• Panic attacks more than once a week
• Difficulty in understanding complex commands
• Impairment of short- and long-term memory (e.g., retention of only highly learned material, forgetting to complete tasks)
• Impaired judgment
• Impaired abstract thinking
• Disturbances of motivation and mood
• Difficulty in establishing and maintaining effective work and social relationships

30% — Occasional Decrease in Work Efficiency

Assigned for occupational and social impairment with occasional decrease in work efficiency and intermittent periods of inability to perform occupational tasks (although generally functioning satisfactorily, with routine behavior, self-care, and conversation normal), due to such symptoms as:

• Depressed mood, anxiety, suspiciousness
• Panic attacks (weekly or less often)
• Chronic sleep impairment
• Mild memory loss (such as forgetting names, directions, recent events)

10% — Mild or Transient Symptoms

Assigned for occupational and social impairment due to mild or transient symptoms which decrease work efficiency and ability to perform occupational tasks only during periods of significant stress, or symptoms controlled by continuous medication.

0% — Diagnosed, But Minimal Impact

Assigned when a mental condition has been formally diagnosed, but symptoms are not severe enough either to interfere with occupational and social functioning or to require continuous medication.

What the VA Looks For

When rating delirium under Diagnostic Code 9300, the VA focuses on:

• The degree of occupational and social impairment your symptoms cause
• The specific symptoms present and how they match the descriptions at each rating level
• How your symptoms affect your ability to work, maintain relationships, and manage daily activities
• Whether your symptoms are controlled by continuous medication

The rating levels above are drawn directly from the General Rating Formula for Mental Disorders. The examples of symptoms listed at each level illustrate the kinds of impairment associated with that rating.