S52.233A (Displaced oblique fracture of shaft of unspecified ulna, initial encounter for closed fracture) compared with S52.233S (Displaced oblique fracture of shaft of unspecified ulna, sequela), from the official CMS tabular data. S52.233A and S52.233S code the same injury at a different phase of treatment.
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. S52.233A and S52.233S 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.
| S52.233ADisplaced oblique fracture of shaft of unspecified ulna, initial encounter for closed fracture | S52.233SDisplaced oblique fracture of shaft of unspecified ulna, sequela | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Displaced oblique fracture of shaft of unspecified ulna, initial encounter for closed fracture is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S52.233A). | Displaced oblique fracture of shaft of unspecified ulna, sequela is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S52.233S). |
| 7th character | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to all codes from category S52 | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to all codes from category S52 |
Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources