T71.143A vs T71.143S
T71.143A (Asphyxiation due to smothering under another person's body (in bed), assault, initial encounter) compared with T71.143S (Asphyxiation due to smothering under another person's body (in bed), assault, sequela), from the official CMS tabular data. T71.143A and T71.143S code the same injury at a different phase of treatment.
Can these codes be reported together?
Same injury, other encounter phase. T71.143A and T71.143S 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.
Side by side
| T71.143AAsphyxiation due to smothering under another person's body (in bed), assault, initial encounter | T71.143SAsphyxiation due to smothering under another person's body (in bed), assault, 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 | Asphyxiation due to smothering under another person's body (in bed), assault, initial encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (T71.143A). | Asphyxiation due to smothering under another person's body (in bed), assault, sequela is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (T71.143S). |
| 7th character | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category T71 | The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category T71 |
Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources