Skip to main content
Compare/O88.0 vs T79.0

O88.0 vs T79.0

O88.0 (Obstetric air embolism) compared with T79.0 (Air embolism (traumatic)), 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. T79.0 carries an Excludes1 note covering O88.0: “air embolism complicating pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (O88.0)”

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

O88.0Obstetric air embolismT79.0Air embolism (traumatic)
Billing statusNon-billable header

Report instead: O88.011, O88.012, O88.013, O88.019, O88.02

Non-billable header

Report instead: T79.0XXA, T79.0XXD, T79.0XXS

ClassificationO00-O9A — Pregnancy, Childbirth and the Puerperium (O00-O9A)S00-T88 — Injury, Poisoning and Certain Other Consequences of External Causes (S00-T88)
DefinitionObstetric air embolism is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (O88.0).Air embolism (traumatic) is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (T79.0).
7th characterThe appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category T79

Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources