S44.30XA (Injury of axillary nerve, unspecified arm, initial encounter) compared with S44.30XD (Injury of axillary nerve, unspecified arm, subsequent encounter), from the official CMS tabular data. S44.30XA and S44.30XD 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. S44.30XA and S44.30XD 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.
| S44.30XAInjury of axillary nerve, unspecified arm, initial encounter | S44.30XDInjury of axillary nerve, unspecified arm, subsequent encounter | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Injury of axillary nerve, unspecified arm, initial encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S44.30A). | Injury of axillary nerve, unspecified arm, subsequent encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S44.30D). |
| 7th character | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S44 | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S44 |
| Includes | injuries of axilla injuries of scapular region | injuries of axilla injuries of scapular region |
Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources