S44.50XA vs S44.52XA

S44.50XA (Injury of cutaneous sensory nerve at shoulder and upper arm level, unspecified arm, initial encounter) compared with S44.52XA (Injury of cutaneous sensory nerve at shoulder and upper arm level, left arm, initial encounter), from the official CMS tabular data. S44.50XA and S44.52XA code the same condition on opposite sides.

Relationship

Review

Laterality relationship

S44.50XA

Unspecified

Injury of cutaneous sensory nerve at shoulder and upper arm level, unspecified arm, initial encounter

↔

S44.52XA

Left

Injury of cutaneous sensory nerve at shoulder and upper arm level, left arm, initial encounter

Same condition; these differ only in which side is documented.

These codes share a category and title and differ only in the side affected. The documentation decides which applies, and a bilateral code is reported only where the code set provides one.

Source: ICD-10-CM tabular list (laterality variant derived from the code title)

Can these codes be reported together?

Same condition, opposite side. S44.50XA and S44.52XA name the same condition on opposite sides of the body.

Same category and title, differing only in which side is affected — the documentation decides which one applies, and a bilateral code is reported only where the code set provides one.

Side by side

	S44.50XAInjury of cutaneous sensory nerve at shoulder and upper arm level, unspecified arm, initial encounter	S44.52XAInjury of cutaneous sensory nerve at shoulder and upper arm level, left arm, initial 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 cutaneous sensory nerve at shoulder and upper arm level, unspecified arm, initial encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S44.50A).	Injury of cutaneous sensory nerve at shoulder and upper arm level, left arm, initial encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S44.52A).
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

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