T81.44 ICD-10-CM Code: Sepsis following a procedure

Coding instructions

Official Tabular Instructional Notes: the inclusion, exclusion and sequencing notes published for T81.44 in the official ICD-10-CM tabular list, quoted as published.

Source: CMS/CDC — ICD-10-CM Tabular ListRelease: FY2026Effective: October 1, 2025

Notes without a marker are published on T81.44 itself; “inherited from” names the category or block whose note applies here.

7th Character Guide

"The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category T81"

• A — initial encounter
• D — subsequent encounter
• S — sequela

How the encounter character is assigned. “Initial encounter” means the patient is receiving active treatment for the condition — it is not limited to the first visit, and a different or new provider giving active treatment still assigns it. “Subsequent encounter” covers care during the healing or recovery phase after active treatment. “Sequela” is for complications or conditions that arise as a direct result of the original condition.

ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting, Section I.C.19.a (paraphrased by MedCoder).

Variant codes in this family

T81.44XA, T81.44XD, T81.44XS

Character meanings are CMS's official 7th-character extensions for this family, as carried in each variant code's official description; variant codes are registry rows. The explanation of how the encounter character is assigned is MedCoder editorial, distinct from the official content above it.

Coder workflow for T81.44

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

Before you code T81.44

1. T81.44 is not reportable as written. Select the more specific code beneath it that the documentation supports. Codes are reported to the highest level of specificity the classification provides (Guidelines I.B.2).

   ReviewT81.44XA, T81.44XD, T81.44XS

   See the relationships section · Guide: How to choose an ICD-10-CM code →

2. A 7th character is required in this family. Confirm the documented encounter: initial (active treatment), subsequent (healing or recovery phase), or sequela. T81.44 is not valid without one. “Initial” means active treatment, not the first visit (Guidelines I.C.19.a).

   See the 7th Character Guide · Guide: 7th characters: initial, subsequent, sequela →

Choose the right path

1. Does the documentation support one of the more specific codes beneath T81.44?
   Yes → Select that code and continue the checks below on its own page.
   No → T81.44 cannot be reported as written; query for the specificity its subcategory needs.

   ReviewT81.44XA, T81.44XD, T81.44XS

2. Is the encounter phase documented — active treatment, healing or recovery, or a sequela?
   Yes → Assign the matching 7th character; the variant codes are in the 7th Character Guide.
   No → The code is invalid without its 7th character — query for the missing element.

Consider T81.44. Then work the Use Additional Code note and review the Code Also note, and confirm the code is valid for the date of service in the Verify section.

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).

Encounter type

Active treatment, healing or recovery phase, or sequela — the basis of the 7th character (Guidelines I.C.19.a).

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

• Excludes2 — not part of T81.44(37 notes)

  Coding workflow: The conditions named in this note are not included in T81.44. When the record documents both, both may be reported; the note is a boundary, not a prohibition.

  CompareH59.4, T80.2, T85.7, O86.0, R50.82, K68.11

  See the official tabular notes · Guidelines I.A.12.b

• Use Additional Code — after identifying T81.44(6 notes)

  Coding workflow: Check whether the documentation supports the additional code(s) the note names, and report them with T81.44 when it does. Where the instruction is conditional (“if applicable”, “if known”), it applies only when the record documents the condition.

  ReviewR65.2

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

• Code Also — related condition(1 note)

  Coding workflow: Review the related condition when both are documented and the instruction applies. A Code Also note does not fix sequencing; the order follows the circumstances of the encounter.

  ReviewT81.32

  See the official tabular notes · Guidelines I.A.17

Coding decision scenarios

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

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.

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.

• Sepsis (generalized) (unspecified organism), postprocedural

Official Coding Guidelines

Official source data — quoted verbatim from the CMS/NCHS Official Guidelines

Official source data — quoted verbatim from the CMS/NCHS Official Guidelines

Verbatim excerpts from the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting (CMS/NCHS) that govern this code.

Don’t confuse T81.44 with…

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

The codes most likely to be picked instead of T81.44 — 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.

• T81.40— 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 following a procedure, unspecified” takes T81.40; specificity in the record moves it back here.

  Full comparison: T81.44 vs T81.40 →

• T81.44XA— Encounter relationship (Review)

  Same underlying diagnosis, different encounter phase.

  The same diagnosis at a different phase of care; one encounter takes one 7th character.

  What moves you there: Documentation of a initial encounter moves the case to T81.44XA.

  Full comparison: T81.44 vs T81.44XA →

• T81.44XD— Encounter relationship (Review)

  Same underlying diagnosis, different encounter phase.

  The same diagnosis at a different phase of care; one encounter takes one 7th character.

  What moves you there: Documentation of a subsequent encounter moves the case to T81.44XD.

  Full comparison: T81.44 vs T81.44XD →

• H59.4— Excludes2 relationship (Informational)

  Distinct conditions — both may be reported.

  A distinct condition — both may be reported when both are documented.

  What moves you there: Documentation of bleb associated endophthalmitis adds H59.4; it is not part of this code and both may be reported when both are documented.

  Full comparison: T81.44 vs H59.4 →

• T80.2— Excludes2 relationship (Informational)

  Distinct conditions — both may be reported.

  A distinct condition — both may be reported when both are documented.

  What moves you there: Documentation of infection due to infusion, transfusion and therapeutic injection adds T80.2; it is not part of this code and both may be reported when both are documented.

  Full comparison: T81.44 vs T80.2 →

• T82.6— Excludes2 relationship (Informational)

  Distinct conditions — both may be reported.

  A distinct condition — both may be reported when both are documented.

  What moves you there: Documentation of infection due to prosthetic devices, implants and grafts adds T82.6; it is not part of this code and both may be reported when both are documented.

  Full comparison: T81.44 vs T82.6 →

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.

Decision Points

The directives on this code's own record, as a pre-claim checklist.

1. A 7th character applies in this family. Confirm the documented encounter matches the character assigned. See the official 7th-character definitions and this code’s variants
2. 6 Use Additional Code instructions — report the named additional code(s) when the documentation supports them. See the Use Additional Code notes
3. 1 Code Also note — a second code may apply; the guidelines leave its sequencing to the circumstances of the encounter. See the Code Also notes
4. 37 Excludes2 entries — those conditions are not part of this code and may be reported additionally when documented. See the Excludes2 notes

Checklist rows are derived from this code's own official directives; the wording of each check is MedCoder editorial. The official notes themselves are in the sections each row links to.

Verify Before Coding

• Not billable as written — a more specific code is required: T81.44XA, T81.44XD, T81.44XS.
• Requires a 7th character. "The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category T81" Options: T81.44XA, T81.44XD, T81.44XS

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 structured relationships — computed from published CMS and AHRQ datasets

Other codes that name T81.44 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 3 Excludes1 notes across 3 chapters: O86.0 — Infection of obstetric surgical wound (via T81.4.-), R50.82 — Postprocedural fever (via T81.4.-), T88.7 — Unspecified adverse effect of drug or medicament (via T81.-).

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

Referenced by 5 Excludes2 notes across 2 chapters: K68.11 — Postprocedural retroperitoneal abscess (via T81.4.-), T78 — Adverse effects, not elsewhere classified (via T81.-), T79 — Certain early complications of trauma, not elsewhere classified (via T81.-), T80.2 — Infections following infusion, transfusion and therapeutic injection (via T81.4.-), T88 — Other complications of surgical and medical care, not elsewhere classified (via T81.-).

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

Referenced by 4 Code First instructions across 3 chapters: A40 — Streptococcal sepsis, A41 — Other sepsis, J98.51 — Mediastinitis (via T81.-), R65.2 — Severe sepsis (via T81.4.-).

Each of these codes carries a Code First note naming this condition — when that code is reported, THIS code is sequenced first, ahead of it.

Related Codes

Same Index main term, other category

The ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries files this code under the main term “Sepsis”; these codes share that main term but sit in a different category of the Tabular List.

P36.2 — Sepsis of newborn due to Staphylococcus aureus (newborn, due to, Staphylococcus, aureus), P36.30 — Sepsis of newborn due to unspecified staphylococci (newborn, due to, Staphylococcus), P36.39 — Sepsis of newborn due to other staphylococci (newborn, due to, Staphylococcus, specified NEC), P36.4 — Sepsis of newborn due to Escherichia coli (newborn, due to, Escherichia coli), P36.5 — Sepsis of newborn due to anaerobes (newborn, due to, anaerobes NEC), P36.8 — Other bacterial sepsis of newborn (newborn, specified NEC), P36.9 — Bacterial sepsis of newborn, unspecified (newborn), R65.20 — Severe sepsis without septic shock (severe), R65.21 — Severe sepsis with septic shock (severe, with septic shock), T80.29 — Infection following other infusion, transfusion and therapeutic injection (following, infusion, therapeutic injection or transfusion NEC), T82.6 — Infection and inflammatory reaction due to cardiac valve prosthesis (due to device, implant or graft, heart NEC, valve), T82.7 — Infection and inflammatory reaction due to other cardiac and vascular devices, implants and grafts (due to device, implant or graft, vascular), T83.511 — Infection and inflammatory reaction due to indwelling urethral catheter (due to device, implant or graft, catheter NEC, urethral indwelling), T83.518 — Infection and inflammatory reaction due to other urinary catheter (due to device, implant or graft, catheter NEC, urinary), T83.590 — Infection and inflammatory reaction due to implanted urinary neurostimulation device (due to device, implant or graft, electronic, urinary), T83.69 — Infection and inflammatory reaction due to other prosthetic device, implant and graft in genital tract (due to device, implant or graft, genital), T84.7 — Infection and inflammatory reaction due to other internal orthopedic prosthetic devices, implants and grafts (due to device, implant or graft, orthopedic NEC), T85.71 — Infection and inflammatory reaction due to peritoneal dialysis catheter (due to device, implant or graft, catheter NEC, dialysis, intraperitoneal), T85.730 — Infection and inflammatory reaction due to ventricular intracranial (communicating) shunt (due to device, implant or graft, ventricular intracranialshunt), T85.731 — Infection and inflammatory reaction due to implanted electronic neurostimulator of brain, electrode (lead) (due to device, implant or graft, electronic, nervous system, brain), +57 more

Contextual Map

Every relationship of T81.44 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 T81.44 with these 12 related codes in Claim Check

Hierarchy

• S00-T88 — Chapter 19: Injury, Poisoning and Certain Other Consequences of External Causes (S00-T88) (S00-T88)[Hierarchy]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026

Referenced by Excludes1 notes

• O86.0 — Infection of obstetric surgical wound[Excludes1](via T81.4.-): “complications of procedures, not elsewhere classified (T81.4-)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026
• R50.82 — Postprocedural fever[Excludes1](via T81.4.-): “postprocedural infection (T81.4-)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026
• T88.7 — Unspecified adverse effect of drug or medicament[Excludes1](via T81.-): “specified adverse effects of drugs and medicaments (A00-R94 and T80-T88.6, T88.8)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026

Referenced by Excludes2 notes

• K68.11 — Postprocedural retroperitoneal abscess[Excludes2](via T81.4.-): “infection following procedure (T81.4-)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026
• T78 — Adverse effects, not elsewhere classified[Excludes2](via T81.-): “complications of surgical and medical care NEC (T80-T88)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026
• T79 — Certain early complications of trauma, not elsewhere classified[Excludes2](via T81.-): “complications occurring during or following medical procedures (T80-T88)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026
• T80.2 — Infections following infusion, transfusion and therapeutic injection[Excludes2](via T81.4.-): “postprocedural infections (T81.4-)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026
• T88 — Other complications of surgical and medical care, not elsewhere classified[Excludes2](via T81.-): “complication following procedure NEC (T81.-)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026

Referenced by Code First instructions

• A40 — Streptococcal sepsis[Code First]: “, if applicable, postprocedural sepsis (T81.44-)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026
• A41 — Other sepsis[Code First]: “, if applicable, postprocedural sepsis (T81.44-)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026
• J98.51 — Mediastinitis[Code First](via T81.-): “underlying condition, if applicable, such as postoperative mediastinitis (T81.-)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026
• R65.2 — Severe sepsis[Code First](via T81.4.-): “infection following a procedure (T81.4-)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026

Index entries

• Sepsis (generalized) (unspecified organism), postprocedural[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026

Nearest codes (40)

• T81 — Complications of procedures, not elsewhere classified[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• T81.33XA — Disruption of traumatic injury wound repair, initial encounter[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• T81.33XD — Disruption of traumatic injury wound repair, subsequent encounter[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• T81.33XS — Disruption of traumatic injury wound repair, sequela[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• T81.4 — Infection following a procedure[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• T81.40 — Infection following a procedure, unspecified[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• T81.40XA — Infection following a procedure, unspecified, initial encounter[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• T81.40XD — Infection following a procedure, unspecified, subsequent encounter[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• and 32 more

Change history

• FY2019 — Added to the code set[Change history]— CMS release files (code change ledger) · icd10cm-fy2019

Relevant guides

• Sepsis, Severe Sepsis, and Septic Shock: How Many Codes, and Which Goes First →

Common coding questions

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 FY2026 tabular list, index and tables, effective October 1, 2025 Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page

Coding guidelines Official source data

ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting (FY2026), quoted by section Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page

Claim edits Official source data

CMS Definitions of Medicare Code Edits — v43.1 (April 2026) 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 structured 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 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.

Labels on this page: Official source data · MedCoder structured relationship · MedCoder explanation. How to read the labels · All data sources and release dates

Nearest Codes in This Family

Official ICD-10-CM classifications closest to T81.44 in its code family, with their registry titles.

• T81.42XS — Infection following a procedure, deep incisional surgical site, sequela
• T81.43 — Infection following a procedure, organ and space surgical site
• T81.43XA — Infection following a procedure, organ and space surgical site, initial encounter
• T81.43XD — Infection following a procedure, organ and space surgical site, subsequent encounter
• T81.43XS — Infection following a procedure, organ and space surgical site, sequela
• T81.44XA — Sepsis following a procedure, initial encounter
• T81.44XD — Sepsis following a procedure, subsequent encounter
• T81.44XS — Sepsis following a procedure, sequela
• T81.49 — Infection following a procedure, other surgical site
• T81.49XA — Infection following a procedure, other surgical site, initial encounter

View all codes in the T81 family