S56.198A

Other injury of flexor muscle, fascia and tendon of left little finger at forearm level, initial encounter

FY2027Chapter 19: Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes/S50–S59 Injuries to the elbow and forearm

BillableComplete code, valid to report

S56.198A (also written S56198A) is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for other injury of flexor muscle, fascia and tendon of left little finger at forearm level, initial encounter. It is part of the FY2027 code set, effective October 1, 2026. It is one of the 432 codes in category S56 (Injury of muscle, fascia and tendon at forearm level). Its 7th character, A, means initial encounter. Its coding notes include a Use additional code instruction, a Code also instruction and 8 Excludes2 entries.

7th character

Category S56 requires a 7th character.

Assembled code S56.198A Open code

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.

Inherited from S56 Injury of muscle, fascia and tendon at forearm level
  • any associated open wound (S51.-)

Excludes2

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

Inherited from S56 Injury of muscle, fascia and tendon at forearm level
  • injury of muscle, fascia and tendon at or below wrist (S66.-)
  • sprain of joints and ligaments of elbow (S53.4-)
Also from chapter/block level (6 notes)
Inherited from S50–S59 Injuries to the elbow and forearm
Inherited from Chapter 19 Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes
  • birth trauma (P10-P15)
  • obstetric trauma (O70-O71)

Care settings

How CMS programs treat this code. These are CMS claim edits and list entries, not coverage or eligibility rules.

Home Health Primary

Accepted as the primary (principal) diagnosis on a home health claim. The Home Health Grouper assigns it to the Musculoskeletal Rehabilitation clinical group.

Source: CMS Home Health Grouper Software v07.2.26, effective October 1, 2026

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.