T17.520A (Food in bronchus causing asphyxiation, initial encounter) compared with T17.520S (Food in bronchus causing asphyxiation, sequela), from the official CMS tabular data. T17.520A and T17.520S 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. T17.520A and T17.520S 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.
| T17.520AFood in bronchus causing asphyxiation, initial encounter | T17.520SFood in bronchus causing asphyxiation, sequela | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing status | Billable | Billable |
| Classification | S00-T88 — Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes | S00-T88 — Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes |
| Definition | Food in bronchus causing asphyxiation, initial encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (T17.520A). | Food in bronchus causing asphyxiation, sequela is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (T17.520S). |
| 7th character | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category T17 | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category T17 |
| Use additional code | code, if known, for foreign body entering into or through a natural orifice (W44.-) | code, if known, for foreign body entering into or through a natural orifice (W44.-) |
Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources