Alphabetic Index FY2027

S44

Injury of nerves at shoulder and upper arm level

FY2027Chapter 19: Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes/S40–S49 Injuries to the shoulder and upper arm

Non-billable headerNot valid on its own. Use one of the more specific codes under it.

S44 is a non-billable ICD-10-CM code category for injury of nerves at shoulder and upper arm level. Report a more specific code from it instead. It is part of the FY2027 code set, effective October 1, 2026. The more specific codes under it are S44.0 Injury of ulnar nerve at upper arm level, S44.1 Injury of median nerve at upper arm level, S44.2 Injury of radial nerve at upper arm level, S44.3 Injury of axillary nerve and 4 more. Its coding notes include a Use additional code instruction, a Code also instruction and 7 Excludes2 entries.

7th characters

Every code below needs one of these.

The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S44

  • Ainitial encounter
  • Dsubsequent encounter
  • Ssequela

Guidelines tips

From the FY2027 Official Guidelines. ICD10Ref adds no rules of its own.

The 7th character depends on whether the patient is in active treatment, not on who sees the patient. An aftercare Z code is not used for injury aftercare.

Guidelines I.C.19.aInjuries: application of 7th charactersRead the official text

Each injury gets its own code unless a combination code exists, with the most serious injury first. Superficial injuries at the same site as a more severe injury are not coded. Injuries during medical care are coded as complications.

Guidelines I.C.19.bCoding of injuriesRead the official text

Use additional code

Add the listed code as a secondary code, if known.

Also from chapter/block level (1 note)
Inherited from Chapter 19 Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes
  • code to identify any retained foreign body, if applicable (Z18.-)

Code also

Two codes may be needed to describe the condition. This note gives no sequencing order.

This code
  • any associated open wound (S41.-)

Excludes2

Not included here. Both codes may be reported if the patient has both conditions.

This code
  • injury of brachial plexus (S14.3-)
Also from chapter/block level (6 notes)
Inherited from S40–S49 Injuries to the shoulder and upper arm
Inherited from Chapter 19 Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes
  • birth trauma (P10-P15)
  • obstetric trauma (O70-O71)

Includes

Further defines or gives examples of the content of the category.

Also from chapter/block level (2 notes)
Inherited from S40–S49 Injuries to the shoulder and upper arm
  • injuries of axilla
  • injuries of scapular region

Notes

Also from chapter/block level (2 notes)
Inherited from Chapter 19 Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes
  • Use secondary code(s) from Chapter 20, External causes of morbidity, to indicate cause of injury. Codes within the T section that include the external cause do not require an additional external cause code
  • The chapter uses the S-section for coding different types of injuries related to single body regions and the T-section to cover injuries to unspecified body regions as well as poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes.

More specific codes under S44 8