A54.43 (Gonococcal osteomyelitis) compared with M86.8X41 (Other osteomyelitis, right hand), from the official CMS tabular data. Do not report these codes together: the official tabular list marks them Excludes1. MedCoder-derived
Not coded here — these two are mutually exclusive.
“gonococcus (A54.43)”
An Excludes1 note means the two conditions cannot occur together, so the pair should not be reported for the same encounter. The sole exception is when the conditions are documented as unrelated to each other.
Source: CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes; ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a
No — do not report together. M86.8X41 carries an Excludes1 note covering A54.43: “gonococcus (A54.43)”
Sole exception: when the two conditions are documented as unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).
| A54.43Gonococcal osteomyelitis | M86.8X41Other osteomyelitis, right hand | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing status | Billable | Billable |
| Classification | A00-B99 — Certain Infectious and Parasitic Diseases (A00-B99) | M00-M99 — Diseases of the Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue (M00-M99) |
| Definition | Gonococcal osteomyelitis is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (A54.43). | Other osteomyelitis, right hand is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (M86.8X41). |
| Use additional code | — | code (B95-B97) to identify infectious agent code to identify major osseous defect, if applicable (M89.7-) |
Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources