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T79.0 vs T81.72XD

T79.0 (Air embolism (traumatic)) compared with T81.72XD (Complication of vein following a procedure, not elsewhere classified, subsequent encounter), from the official CMS tabular data. Do not report these codes together: the official tabular list marks them Excludes1.

Relationship

Conflict

Excludes1 conflict

T79.0
Air embolism (traumatic)
↔
T81.72XD
Complication of vein following a procedure, not elsewhere classified, subsequent encounter

Not coded here — these two are mutually exclusive.

“air embolism following procedure NEC (T81.7-)”

An Excludes1 note means the two conditions cannot occur together, so the pair should not be reported for the same encounter. The sole exception is when the conditions are documented as unrelated to each other.

Source: CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes; ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a

Can these codes be reported together?

No — do not report together. T79.0 carries an Excludes1 note covering T81.72XD: “air embolism following procedure NEC (T81.7-)”

Sole exception: when the two conditions are documented as unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).

Side by side

T79.0Air embolism (traumatic)T81.72XDComplication of vein following a procedure, not elsewhere classified, subsequent encounter
Billing statusNon-billable headerBillable
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)
DefinitionAir embolism (traumatic) is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (T79.0).Complication of vein following a procedure, not elsewhere classified, subsequent encounter is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (T81.72D).
7th characterThe appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category T79The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category T81
Use additional code—
code for adverse effect, if applicable, to identify drug (T36-T50 with fifth or sixth character 5)
code(s) to identify the specified condition resulting from the complication
code to identify devices involved and details of circumstances (Y62-Y82)
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Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources