T79.9

Unspecified early complication of trauma

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.

T79.9 is a non-billable ICD-10-CM code header for unspecified early complication of trauma. Report a more specific code from it instead. It is part of the FY2027 code set, effective October 1, 2026. A 7th character is required to complete the code. Its coding notes include a Use additional code instruction and 6 Excludes2 entries.

7th character

Category T79 requires a 7th character. T79.9 has only 4 characters, so a placeholder X fills the empty positions.

Assembled code T79.9XXA Open code

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.

Inherited from T79 Certain early complications of trauma, not elsewhere classified
  • 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.

Alphabetic Index terms

Terms the official Alphabetic Index lists for this code. 1 entry

7th-character codes under T79.9 3