S52.281A (Bent bone of right ulna, initial encounter for closed fracture) compared with S52.281R (Bent bone of right ulna, subsequent encounter for open fracture type IIIA, IIIB, or IIIC with malunion), from the official CMS tabular data. S52.281A and S52.281R 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. S52.281A and S52.281R 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.
| S52.281ABent bone of right ulna, initial encounter for closed fracture | S52.281RBent bone of right ulna, subsequent encounter for open fracture type IIIA, IIIB, or IIIC with malunion | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Bent bone of right ulna, initial encounter for closed fracture is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S52.281A). | Bent bone of right ulna, subsequent encounter for open fracture type IIIA, IIIB, or IIIC with malunion is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S52.281R). |
| 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