VA Disability Rating for Hypertrophic Gastritis (DC 7307)

Diagnostic Code 7307 · 38 CFR §4.114

What Is It?

DC 7307 is “Gastritis, chronic,” and its rating cell in 38 CFR 4.114 is empty. The entry is one line: rate as peptic ulcer disease (DC 7304). Its Note sets the scope, and the scope is broad — the code includes Helicobacter pylori infection, drug-induced gastritis, Zollinger-Ellison syndrome, and portal-hypertensive gastropathy with varix-related complications. Hypertrophic gastritis, where the gastric folds and mucosa thicken and endoscopy shows the change, sits inside that code along with every other chronic form. Veterans commonly arrive here from long NSAID use for a service-connected joint or back condition, from H. pylori acquired in service, or from years of untreated reflux. The practical consequence of the routing is worth stating plainly: because the percentage is taken from DC 7304, it is decided by counted episodes of abdominal pain, nausea or vomiting — how many in the past 12 months, whether each lasted at least three consecutive days, and whether daily prescribed medication manages them. Endoscopic findings establish the diagnosis; the episode count sets the number. Any source showing gastritis on a ladder of its own is describing the schedule as it stood before 19 May 2024.

Rating Criteria

Rating	Criteria
See pathways	DC 7307 assigns no percentages of its own — its rating cell in 38 CFR 4.114 is empty. The entry directs: rate as peptic ulcer disease (DC 7304). DC 7304 runs 100, 60, 40, 20 and 0 percent — there is no 10 percent step. 100 percent is post-operative for perforation or hemorrhage, for three months, after which a Note requires a mandatory VA examination and the evaluation is set on residuals, with 38 CFR 3.105(e) governing any change. 60 percent is continuous abdominal pain with intermittent vomiting, recurrent hematemesis or melena, and manifestations of anemia requiring hospitalization at least once in the past 12 months. 40 percent is episodes of abdominal pain, nausea or vomiting lasting at least three consecutive days, occurring four or more times in the past 12 months, and managed by daily prescribed medication. 20 percent is the same episodes occurring three times or less in the past 12 months. 0 percent is a history of peptic ulcer disease documented by endoscopy or diagnostic imaging.

Rating

Criteria

See pathways

DC 7307 assigns no percentages of its own — its rating cell in 38 CFR 4.114 is empty. The entry directs: rate as peptic ulcer disease (DC 7304). DC 7304 runs 100, 60, 40, 20 and 0 percent — there is no 10 percent step. 100 percent is post-operative for perforation or hemorrhage, for three months, after which a Note requires a mandatory VA examination and the evaluation is set on residuals, with 38 CFR 3.105(e) governing any change. 60 percent is continuous abdominal pain with intermittent vomiting, recurrent hematemesis or melena, and manifestations of anemia requiring hospitalization at least once in the past 12 months. 40 percent is episodes of abdominal pain, nausea or vomiting lasting at least three consecutive days, occurring four or more times in the past 12 months, and managed by daily prescribed medication. 20 percent is the same episodes occurring three times or less in the past 12 months. 0 percent is a history of peptic ulcer disease documented by endoscopy or diagnostic imaging.

Evidence Needed

Endoscopy (EGD) results describing the gastric mucosa, with biopsy pathology where taken — the 0 percent row itself requires endoscopy or diagnostic imaging
H. pylori testing (breath, stool antigen or biopsy-based), since the Note names that infection inside this code
A symptom log covering at least 12 months recording each episode of abdominal pain, nausea or vomiting, its start and end dates, and its duration in consecutive days
The medication record showing daily prescribed treatment, which the 40 and 20 percent rows both require
Hemoglobin and iron studies, and any record of hospitalization for anemia, which the 60 percent row requires
Any documentation of hematemesis or melena, the other elements of the 60 percent row
Records tying the gastritis to prescribed NSAID use for another service-connected condition, where that is the pathway

C&P Exam Tips

Bring the endoscopy report and any pathology — they establish the diagnosis and satisfy the 0 percent row's documentation requirement
Bring a counted symptom log, not a description: the 40 and 20 percent rows differ only in how many episodes occurred in the past 12 months
For each episode, say how many consecutive days it lasted. Three consecutive days is the threshold both rows use
List every daily prescribed medication and say whether it manages the episodes, because “managed by daily prescribed medication” is part of both rows
Report any vomiting of blood or black tarry stools, and any hospital admission for anemia, which is what the 60 percent row is built on
If the gastritis followed NSAIDs prescribed for a service-connected condition, say so and name the condition

How to File

File VA Form 21-526EZ naming chronic or hypertrophic gastritis; the rater applies DC 7307 and takes the percentage from DC 7304. Attach the endoscopy report, the H. pylori result, the hemoglobin trend and, above all, a counted episode log. If the gastritis developed from medication prescribed for another service-connected condition, file it as secondary and include a nexus opinion naming that medication. One structural rule shapes strategy: 38 CFR 4.114's opening paragraph bars combining ratings under DC 7301 through 7329 with each other, and DC 7307 and DC 7304 are both inside that range — so a veteran with gastritis and an ulcer receives one evaluation under whichever predominates, elevated a step if the overall severity warrants, not two stacked digestive ratings.

Common Mistakes

Expecting a percentage from DC 7307 itself. Its rating cell is empty and the entry routes to DC 7304. Describing symptoms generally instead of counting episodes: the 40 and 20 percent rows turn on how many episodes occurred in 12 months and whether each ran three consecutive days. Filing without endoscopy or imaging, which is what the 0 percent row itself requires. Leading with weight loss. It is not a criterion anywhere in DC 7304's rows — episode counts, daily medication, hematemesis, melena and hospitalized anemia are.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why is there no rating table under DC 7307?

Because the code assigns no percentages. Its rating cell in 38 CFR 4.114 is empty and the entry reads “Rate as peptic ulcer disease (DC 7304).” DC 7304's rows — 100, 60, 40, 20 and 0 percent — decide the evaluation. There is no 10 percent step.

What is the difference between chronic gastritis and hypertrophic gastritis?

Hypertrophic gastritis is the form in which the gastric folds and mucosa thicken visibly on endoscopy. For rating purposes the distinction does not change the code: DC 7307 is “Gastritis, chronic” and its Note reaches H. pylori infection, drug-induced gastritis, Zollinger-Ellison syndrome and portal-hypertensive gastropathy alike. All of them are rated as peptic ulcer disease under DC 7304.

Can I be rated for gastritis and an ulcer at the same time?

Not as two ratings. DC 7307 and DC 7304 both sit inside DC 7301 through 7329, which 38 CFR 4.114's opening paragraph bars from being combined with each other. VA assigns one evaluation under the code reflecting the predominant disability picture and elevates it to the next higher evaluation if the overall severity warrants.