T18.120A (Food in esophagus causing compression of trachea, initial encounter) compared with T18.120D (Food in esophagus causing compression of trachea, subsequent encounter), from the official CMS tabular data. T18.120A and T18.120D code the same injury at a different phase of treatment. MedCoder-derived
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. T18.120A and T18.120D 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.
| T18.120AFood in esophagus causing compression of trachea, initial encounter | T18.120DFood in esophagus causing compression of trachea, subsequent encounter | |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | Food in esophagus causing compression of trachea, initial encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (T18.120A). | Food in esophagus causing compression of trachea, subsequent encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (T18.120D). |
| 7th character | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category T18 | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category T18 |
| Includes | Food in esophagus causing obstruction of respiration | Food in esophagus causing obstruction of respiration |
| 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