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S60.572 vs S60.579

S60.572 (Other superficial bite of hand of left hand) compared with S60.579 (Other superficial bite of hand of unspecified hand), from the official CMS tabular data. S60.572 and S60.579 code the same condition on opposite sides. MedCoder-derived

Can these codes be reported together?

Review

Laterality relationship

S60.572
Left
Other superficial bite of hand of left hand
S60.579
Unspecified
Other superficial bite of hand of unspecified hand

What we found

Same condition, opposite side.S60.572 and S60.579 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.

What to review

Report the side the documentation names. Where the code set provides a bilateral code and both sides are documented, use it instead of the pair.

Guide: Laterality codingCheck these on a claim

Why it matters

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 / rule

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

Side by side

S60.572Other superficial bite of hand of left handS60.579Other superficial bite of hand of unspecified hand
Billing statusNon-billable header

Report instead: S60.572A, S60.572D, S60.572S

Non-billable header

Report instead: S60.579A, S60.579D, S60.579S

ClassificationS00-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)
DefinitionOther superficial bite of hand of left hand is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (S60.572).Other superficial bite of hand of unspecified hand is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (S60.579).
7th characterThe appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S60The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S60
Excludes1
open bite of hand (S61.45-)
open bite of hand (S61.45-)
Excludes2
superficial injuries of fingers (S60.3-, S60.4-)
burns and corrosions (T20-T32)
frostbite (T33-T34)
insect bite or sting, venomous (T63.4)
superficial injuries of fingers (S60.3-, S60.4-)
burns and corrosions (T20-T32)
frostbite (T33-T34)
insect bite or sting, venomous (T63.4)

Notes are the code’s own tabular entry, quoted as published. A note that names the other code is the one the verdict above rests on.

Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). A coding-rule comparison, not billing advice: payer-specific edits and medical-necessity policy are outside its scope. All data sources