T79

Certain early complications of trauma, not elsewhere classified

FY2027Chapter 19: Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes/T79 Certain early complications of trauma

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

7th character required
Use additional code
Excludes2

T79 is a non-billable ICD-10-CM code category for certain early complications of trauma, not elsewhere classified. 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 T79.0 Air embolism (traumatic), T79.1 Fat embolism (traumatic), T79.2 Traumatic secondary and recurrent hemorrhage and seroma, T79.4 Traumatic shock and 6 more. Its coding notes include a Use additional code instruction and 6 Excludes2 entries.

7th characters

Every code below needs one of these.

The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category T79

Ainitial encounter
Dsubsequent encounter
Ssequela

Guidelines tip

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

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.-)

Excludes2

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

This code

acute respiratory distress syndrome (J80)
complications occurring during or following medical procedures (T80-T88)
complications of surgical and medical care NEC (T80-T88)
newborn respiratory distress syndrome (P22.0)

Also from chapter/block level (2 notes)

Inherited from Chapter 19 Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes

birth trauma (P10-P15)
obstetric trauma (O70-O71)

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 T79 10