S72.344A (Nondisplaced spiral fracture of shaft of right femur, initial encounter for closed fracture) compared with S72.344S (Nondisplaced spiral fracture of shaft of right femur, sequela), from the official CMS tabular data. S72.344A and S72.344S 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. S72.344A and S72.344S 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.
| S72.344ANondisplaced spiral fracture of shaft of right femur, initial encounter for closed fracture | S72.344SNondisplaced spiral fracture of shaft of right femur, 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 | Nondisplaced spiral fracture of shaft of right femur, initial encounter for closed fracture is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S72.344A). | Nondisplaced spiral fracture of shaft of right femur, sequela is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (S72.344S). |
| 7th character | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to all codes from category S72 | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to all codes from category S72 |
Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources