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S04.899A vs S04.899D

S04.899A (Injury of other cranial nerves, unspecified side, initial encounter) compared with S04.899D (Injury of other cranial nerves, unspecified side, subsequent encounter), from the official CMS tabular data. S04.899A and S04.899D code the same injury at a different phase of treatment.

Relationship

Review

Encounter relationship

S04.899A
Initial encounter
Injury of other cranial nerves, unspecified side, initial encounter
S04.899D
Subsequent encounter
Injury of other cranial nerves, unspecified side, subsequent encounter

Same underlying diagnosis, different encounter phase.

The 7th character records the phase of care for the encounter being coded, so a single encounter takes one of these characters, not several. Review whether both phases belong on the same episode of care.

Source: ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.C.19.a

Can these codes be reported together?

Same injury, other encounter phase. S04.899A and S04.899D code the same injury at a different phase of treatment, set by the 7th character.

The 7th character records the type of care given at the encounter being coded (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.C.19.a), so one encounter takes one of these, not both.

Side by side

S04.899AInjury of other cranial nerves, unspecified side, initial encounterS04.899DInjury of other cranial nerves, unspecified side, subsequent encounter
Billing statusBillableBillable
ClassificationS00-T88 — Injury, Poisoning and Certain Other Consequences of External Causes (S00-T88)S00-T88 — Injury, Poisoning and Certain Other Consequences of External Causes (S00-T88)
DefinitionInjury of other cranial nerves, unspecified side, initial encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S04.899A).Injury of other cranial nerves, unspecified side, subsequent encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S04.899D).
7th characterThe appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S04The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S04
Includes
injuries of ear
injuries of eye
injuries of face [any part]
injuries of gum
injuries of ear
injuries of eye
injuries of face [any part]
injuries of gum
Code first
any associated intracranial injury (S06.-)
any associated intracranial injury (S06.-)

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