S32.16XA vs S32.16XB
S32.16XA (Type 3 fracture of sacrum, initial encounter for closed fracture) compared with S32.16XB (Type 3 fracture of sacrum, initial encounter for open fracture), from the official CMS tabular data. S32.16XA and S32.16XB code the same injury at a different phase of treatment.
Can these codes be reported together?
Same injury, other encounter phase. S32.16XA and S32.16XB 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
| S32.16XAType 3 fracture of sacrum, initial encounter for closed fracture | S32.16XBType 3 fracture of sacrum, initial encounter for open fracture | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing status | Billable | Billable |
| Classification | S00-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) |
| Definition | Type 3 fracture of sacrum, initial encounter for closed fracture is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S32.16A). | Type 3 fracture of sacrum, initial encounter for open fracture is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S32.16B). |
| 7th character | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S32 | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S32 |
| Includes | fracture of lumbosacral neural arch fracture of lumbosacral spinous process fracture of lumbosacral transverse process fracture of lumbosacral vertebra | fracture of lumbosacral neural arch fracture of lumbosacral spinous process fracture of lumbosacral transverse process fracture of lumbosacral vertebra |
| Code first | any associated spinal cord and spinal nerve injury (S34.-) | any associated spinal cord and spinal nerve injury (S34.-) |
Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources