S20.222A (Contusion of left back wall of thorax, initial encounter) compared with S20.222S (Contusion of left back wall of thorax, sequela), from the official CMS tabular data. S20.222A and S20.222S code the same injury at a different phase of treatment. MedCoder-derived
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
Same injury, other encounter phase. S20.222A and S20.222S 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.
| S20.222AContusion of left back wall of thorax, initial encounter | S20.222SContusion of left back wall of thorax, sequela | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing status | Billable | Billable |
| Classification | S00-T88 — Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes | S00-T88 — Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes |
| Definition | Contusion of left back wall of thorax, initial encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S20.222A). | Contusion of left back wall of thorax, sequela is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S20.222S). |
| 7th character | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S20 | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S20 |
| Includes | injuries of breast injuries of chest (wall) injuries of interscapular area | injuries of breast injuries of chest (wall) injuries of interscapular area |
Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources