M54.6 vs M54.8
M54.6 (Pain in thoracic spine) compared with M54.8 (Other dorsalgia), from the official CMS tabular data. Do not report these codes together: the official tabular list marks them Excludes1.
Can these codes be reported together?
No — do not report together. M54.8 carries an Excludes1 note covering M54.6: “dorsalgia in thoracic region (M54.6)”
Sole exception: when the two conditions are documented as unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).
Side by side
| M54.6Pain in thoracic spine | M54.8Other dorsalgia | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing status | Billable | Non-billable header |
| Classification | M00-M99 — Diseases of the Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue (M00-M99) | M00-M99 — Diseases of the Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue (M00-M99) |
| Definition | Pain in thoracic spine is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (M54.6). | Other dorsalgia is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (M54.8). |
Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources