S51.85 vs S52
S51.85 (Open bite of forearm) compared with S52 (Fracture of forearm), from the official CMS tabular data. Do not report these codes together: the official tabular list marks them Excludes1.
Can these codes be reported together?
No — do not report together. S51.85 carries an Excludes1 note covering S52: “open fracture of elbow and forearm (S52.- with open fracture 7th character)”
Sole exception: when the two conditions are documented as unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).
Side by side
| S51.85Open bite of forearm | S52Fracture of forearm | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing status | Non-billable header Report instead: S51.851A, S51.851D, S51.851S, S51.852A, S51.852D | Non-billable header Report instead: S52.001A, S52.001B, S52.001C, S52.001D, S52.001E |
| 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 | Open bite of forearm is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (S51.85). | Fracture of forearm is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (S52). |
| 7th character | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S51 | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to all codes from category S52 |
| Includes | Bite of forearm NOS | — |
Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources