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M46.32 ICD-10-CM Code: Infection of intervertebral disc (pyogenic), cervical region

Compare with another code for M46.32Check this code on a claim

Billing Status: YES. This is a valid, specific, and billable ICD-10-CM reference.

Coding at a Glance

Tabular directives
1 use-additional code
Risk adjustment
CMS-HCC V28: 1 category · CMS-HCC V22 category 39

Billable · FY2027A valid, specific ICD-10-CM code, reportable for dates of service in FY2027.

What you need to know

Source: CMS/NCHS Official ICD-10-CM tabular notes, quoted. From the CMS/NCHS tabular list for the release in force. A note the category or block publishes applies to this code too, and is marked with where it comes from.

Use additional codefrom M46.3Report with this code when documented
  • Use additional code (B95-B97) to identify infectious agent.

Where it sits Source: CMS/NCHS

Under:Chapter 13: Diseases of the Musculoskeletal System and Connective TissueM40-M54 DorsopathiesM45-M49 SpondylopathiesM46 Other inflammatory spondylopathiesM46.3 Infection of intervertebral disc (pyogenic)

CompareCheck ClaimView Related Codes

Inpatient Payment Groups (MS-DRG)

Potential MS-DRG participation — not a DRG assignment.

MS-DRGs this diagnosis helps define, as principal or secondary, per the CMS ICD-10-CM/PCS MS-DRG Definitions Manual v44, Appendix B.

  • MS-DRG 456 — SPINAL FUSION EXCEPT CERVICAL WITH SPINAL CURVATURE, MALIGNANCY, OR INFECTION WITH MCC (MDC 08)
  • MS-DRG 457 — SPINAL FUSION EXCEPT CERVICAL WITH SPINAL CURVATURE, MALIGNANCY, OR INFECTION WITH CC (MDC 08)
  • MS-DRG 458 — SPINAL FUSION EXCEPT CERVICAL WITH SPINAL CURVATURE, MALIGNANCY, OR INFECTION WITHOUT CC/MCC (MDC 08)
  • MS-DRG 539 — OSTEOMYELITIS WITH MCC (MDC 08)
  • MS-DRG 540 — OSTEOMYELITIS WITH CC (MDC 08)
  • MS-DRG 541 — OSTEOMYELITIS WITHOUT CC/MCC (MDC 08)

A diagnosis appearing in a group's logic does not by itself determine the DRG assigned to a stay; the grouper uses the full claim.

Risk Adjustment (CMS-HCC)

Payment categories this diagnosis maps to under CMS-HCC V28, payment year 2026.

  • HCC 92 — Bone/Joint/Muscle/Severe Soft Tissue Infections/Necrosis

Other models: CMS-HCC V22 HCC 39

Risk scores depend on the enrollee's full accepted diagnosis set and segment; a category mapping alone does not determine payment.

Coding instructions

Official Tabular Instructional Notes: the inclusion, exclusion and sequencing notes published for M46.32 in the official ICD-10-CM tabular list, quoted as published.

Source: CMS/CDC — ICD-10-CM Tabular ListRelease: FY2027Effective: October 1, 2026

Trace:FY2027 changesChange historyRelease, file and checksum

Notes without a marker are published on M46.32 itself; “inherited from” names the category or block whose note applies here.

Use Additional Code

Supplementary codes the tabular list directs you to add.

  • Use additional code (B95-B97) to identify infectious agent.

Source: inherited from M46.3

Coder workflow for M46.32

MedCoder structured workflow — derived from this code’s own official record

Documentation check

The provider’s diagnostic statement
Codes are assigned from the provider’s documented diagnosis, not from clinical criteria, test values or a medication list (Guidelines I.A.19).
The conditions the Use Additional Code note names
Reported with this code when documented; a conditional instruction (“if applicable”, “if known”) applies only when the record supports it.

Official instructions as workflow

  • Use Additional Code — after identifying M46.32(1 note)

    Coding workflow: Check whether the documentation supports the additional code(s) the note names, and report them with M46.32 when it does. Where the instruction is conditional (“if applicable”, “if known”), it applies only when the record documents the condition.

    See the official tabular notes · Guidelines I.A.13

Coding decision scenarios

Pattern scenarios for this code’s structure — decision rules, not clinical cases

Documentation: A condition the Use Additional Code note names is documented.

Coding question: Is a second code reported with M46.32?

Path: Review the Use Additional Code note and the code it names.

Reason: The additional code is reported when the record documents the condition; a conditional instruction applies only when its condition is met (Guidelines I.A.13).

Every row is derived from this code’s own record — its title, tabular notes, 7th-character family and same-category siblings — with fixed MedCoder wording; nothing is inferred about a patient. The official notes and guideline text are in the sections each row links to, and they control.

Don’t confuse M46.32 with…

MedCoder analysis — pairs from this code’s official notes, distinctions written by MedCoder

The codes most likely to be picked instead of M46.32 — named in its own official notes, or sharing its laterality or encounter family — with what separates them and which documentation moves the case. Each links to the full comparison.

  • M46.30— Specificity relationship (Review)

    Overlapping diagnoses in the same category.

    Overlapping codes in the same category — the documentation decides which is the more specific fit.

    What moves you there: A record that documents no more than “Infection of intervertebral disc (pyogenic), site unspecified” takes M46.30; specificity in the record moves it back here.

    Full comparison: M46.32 vs M46.30 →

Relationships are read from this code's own official notes, its laterality siblings and its encounter family; the wording of each distinction is MedCoder editorial, and the documentation named in each “what moves you there” line is the official note phrase or sibling title itself. Source: CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes; ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a.

Coding context

Guidelines, coding notes, decision aids, relationships (with MS-DRG and CCSR classification), hierarchy, HCC, coverage and the context map: what a coder reaches for after the core. Each section names whether it is official source data, a MedCoder-derived relationship or MedCoder editorial.

Code Overview

Infection of intervertebral disc (pyogenic), cervical region is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (M46.32).

MedCoder summary Summary composed by MedCoder from this code's official ICD-10-CM record. The tabular instructional notes themselves appear verbatim below.

Verify Before Coding

  • CC as a secondary diagnosis (FY2027). Can raise the stay's MS-DRG severity tier.

From the code registry, the Medicare Code Editor, and the MS-DRG Definitions Manual. Check it against a full claim in Claim Check.

Relationships & Classification

MedCoder-derived relationships — computed from published CMS and AHRQ datasets

Other codes that name M46.32 or its code family, from the CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes. Tabular-note edges are stored at the code family level that carries each note.

Referenced by 1 Excludes1 note: G55 — Nerve root and plexus compressions in diseases classified elsewhere (via M46.-).

These codes’ tabular lists mark this diagnosis as mutually exclusive — not reported together unless the conditions are documented as unrelated.

Referenced by 7 Excludes2 notes: M20 — Acquired deformities of fingers and toes (via M46.-), M20-M25 — Other joint disorders (M20-M25) (via M46.-), M21 — Other acquired deformities of limbs (via M46.-), M22 — Disorder of patella (via M46.-), M23 — Internal derangement of knee (via M46.-), M24 — Other specific joint derangements (via M46.-), M25 — Other joint disorder, not elsewhere classified (via M46.-).

These codes’ tabular lists name this diagnosis as distinct — both may be reported when both are documented.

MS-DRG Grouper Relationships (FY2027)

Potential MS-DRG participation — not a DRG assignment.

FY2027 MS-DRG: CC — Complication or Comorbidity. Reported as a secondary diagnosis, this code raises the stay's MS-DRG severity tier — except when the principal diagnosis is one of 221 clinically related codes on its CMS exclusion list.

Named in the grouper logic of 6 MS-DRGs: DRG 456 (MDC 08), DRG 457 (MDC 08), DRG 458 (MDC 08), DRG 539 (MDC 08), DRG 540 (MDC 08), DRG 541 (MDC 08).

From the CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual (Appendices B and C). Actual DRG assignment depends on the complete claim.

Clinical classification (AHRQ CCSR):MUS011 — Spondylopathies/spondyloarthropathy (including infective) (default).

Clinical Classifications Software Refined (CCSR) for ICD-10-CM Diagnoses. Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Related Codes

Same clinical process (MS-DRG)

Acts as CC — raises the severity of other admissions. CMS groups these diagnoses into one MS-DRG principal-diagnosis exclusion process — a CC/MCC on this list never raises severity when the principal diagnosis is also on it.

M46.21 — Osteomyelitis of vertebra, occipito-atlanto-axial region, M46.22 — Osteomyelitis of vertebra, cervical region, M46.23 — Osteomyelitis of vertebra, cervicothoracic region, M46.24 — Osteomyelitis of vertebra, thoracic region, M46.25 — Osteomyelitis of vertebra, thoracolumbar region, M46.26 — Osteomyelitis of vertebra, lumbar region, M46.27 — Osteomyelitis of vertebra, lumbosacral region, M46.28 — Osteomyelitis of vertebra, sacral and sacrococcygeal region, M46.30 — Infection of intervertebral disc (pyogenic), site unspecified, M46.31 — Infection of intervertebral disc (pyogenic), occipito-atlanto-axial region, M46.33 — Infection of intervertebral disc (pyogenic), cervicothoracic region, M46.34 — Infection of intervertebral disc (pyogenic), thoracic region, M46.35 — Infection of intervertebral disc (pyogenic), thoracolumbar region, M46.36 — Infection of intervertebral disc (pyogenic), lumbar region, M46.37 — Infection of intervertebral disc (pyogenic), lumbosacral region, M46.38 — Infection of intervertebral disc (pyogenic), sacral and sacrococcygeal region, M46.39 — Infection of intervertebral disc (pyogenic), multiple sites in spine, M86.00 — Acute hematogenous osteomyelitis, unspecified site, M86.011 — Acute hematogenous osteomyelitis, right shoulder, M86.012 — Acute hematogenous osteomyelitis, left shoulder, +200 more

Same CMS-HCC risk category (V28)

CMS maps these diagnoses to the same Hierarchical Condition Category (Bone/Joint/Muscle/Severe Soft Tissue Infections/Necrosis) for risk-adjusted payment.

M46.21 — Osteomyelitis of vertebra, occipito-atlanto-axial region, M46.22 — Osteomyelitis of vertebra, cervical region, M46.23 — Osteomyelitis of vertebra, cervicothoracic region, M46.24 — Osteomyelitis of vertebra, thoracic region, M46.25 — Osteomyelitis of vertebra, thoracolumbar region, M46.26 — Osteomyelitis of vertebra, lumbar region, M46.27 — Osteomyelitis of vertebra, lumbosacral region, M46.28 — Osteomyelitis of vertebra, sacral and sacrococcygeal region, M46.30 — Infection of intervertebral disc (pyogenic), site unspecified, M46.31 — Infection of intervertebral disc (pyogenic), occipito-atlanto-axial region, M46.33 — Infection of intervertebral disc (pyogenic), cervicothoracic region, M46.34 — Infection of intervertebral disc (pyogenic), thoracic region, M46.35 — Infection of intervertebral disc (pyogenic), thoracolumbar region, M46.36 — Infection of intervertebral disc (pyogenic), lumbar region, M46.37 — Infection of intervertebral disc (pyogenic), lumbosacral region, M46.38 — Infection of intervertebral disc (pyogenic), sacral and sacrococcygeal region, M46.39 — Infection of intervertebral disc (pyogenic), multiple sites in spine, M72.6 — Necrotizing fasciitis, M86.00 — Acute hematogenous osteomyelitis, unspecified site, M86.011 — Acute hematogenous osteomyelitis, right shoulder, +588 more

Same clinical category (CCSR)

AHRQ's Clinical Classifications Software groups these diagnoses under the same clinical category (Spondylopathies/spondyloarthropathy (including infective)).

+361 more

Contextual Map

Every relationship of M46.32 in one view: hierarchy, official tabular instructions in both directions, clinical classification, risk adjustment, MS-DRG participation, index terms and change history — each edge carrying the CMS source it derives from.

Run M46.32 with these 8 related codes in Claim Check

Hierarchy

Referenced by Excludes1 notes

Referenced by Excludes2 notes

Clinical classification (CCSR)

Risk adjustment (CMS-HCC)

  • HCC 92 — Bone/Joint/Muscle/Severe Soft Tissue Infections/Necrosis [CMS-HCC]— CMS-HCC V28 · 2026

MS-DRG Grouper

MDC crossing

  • MDC 08 — Diseases and Disorders of the Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue[MDC crossing]: “Diseases and Disorders of the Musculoskeletal System and Connective Tissue — the grouper's crossing between diagnoses and procedures: a principal diagnosis sets the MDC, and same-MDC procedures move the stay to its surgical DRGs. 18,439 same-MDC procedures group here; browse them on the MDC page.”— CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual · FY2027

Index entries

  • Infection, infected, infective (opportunistic), intervertebral disc, pyogenic, cervical region[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2027

Nearest codes (40)

Change history

  • FY2016 — In the code set at ICD-10-CM adoption [Change history]— CMS release files (code change ledger) · icd10cm-fy2016

Reference

Index terms and tables, published questions and FAQ, every source behind this page with its release and checksum, the date-of-service check and the complete change history.

Indexed Clinical Terms (1)

Official source data — entries quoted as published, in the Index’s own lookup phrasing

Clinical term phrases from the official ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries that map to this code. These are alphabetic-index entries shown as the Index writes them — lookup phrasing, not necessarily the wording of a final diagnosis.

Sources for this page

Codes, titles, notes, index terms and mappings on this page are transcribed from the datasets below. Relationships MedCoder computed and text MedCoder wrote are labelled where they appear.

Code, title, tabular notes and index terms Official source data
CMS/CDC ICD-10-CM FY2027 tabular list, index and tables, effective October 1, 2026 Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Claim edits Official source data
CMS Definitions of Medicare Code Edits — v44.0 (October 2026) Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Inpatient payment groups Official source data
CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual (incl. Appendix B diagnosis index, Appendix C CC/MCC list, Appendix E procedure index) and IPPS Final Rule tables — v44 Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Risk adjustment Official source data
2026 Mid-Year Final ICD-10 Mappings + Model Software (cms.gov/files/zip/2026-midyear-final-icd-10-mappings.zip, 2026-midyear-final-model-software.zip) — CMS-HCC V28, PY2026 mid-year final release Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Change history and date-of-service validity Official source data
CMS ICD-10-CM release addenda, ingested release by release into the change ledger Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page
Comparisons, relationships and the contextual map MedCoder-derived relationship
Computed by MedCoder from the tabular notes and tables above; every derived relationship is marked as derived where it appears
Summary and FAQ answers MedCoder editorial explanation
Written by MedCoder to explain the sources above: drafted with AI assistance, checked by a person against the release files, and labelled as MedCoder text where it appears. Not official text.

Current data releases:ICD-10-CM FY2027 · ICD-10-PCS FY2027 · HCPCS October 2026 · MS-DRG v44 · Medicare Code Editor v44.0 · NCCI PTP Q4 2026 · MUE Q4 2026 · NCD code lists 2026-01 · LCD export September 28, 2026 · All releases and sources

Labels on this page: Official source data · MedCoder-derived relationship · MedCoder editorial explanation. How to read the labels · All data sources and release dates · CMS coding rules

Cite this page

Reference this page in a research guide, syllabus or article. The release is included because code content changes each year.

MedCoder.ai. "M46.32 — Infection of intervertebral disc (pyogenic), cervical region." ICD-10-CM FY2027. https://medcoder.ai/icd10/code/m46.32-infection-of-intervertebral-disc-pyogenic-cervical-region

Change history

  • FY2016 — October 1, 2015
    In the code set at ICD-10-CM adoption
    Infection of intervertebral disc (pyogenic), cervical region

No changes since FY2016 — additions, deletions, description changes and billable-status changes are tracked through FY2027, and none are recorded for this code. Note changes are tracked from FY2027 only.

Nearest Codes in This Family

Official ICD-10-CM classifications closest to M46.32 in its code family, with their registry titles.

View all codes in the M46 family