ICD-10-CM › S00-T88 › S20-S29 › S20.42 Blister (nonthermal) of back wall of thorax › S20.422

S20.422

Blister (nonthermal) of left back wall of thorax

Not billableICD-10-CM diagnosis code.

This code exists but cannot be submitted on its own. It groups the more specific codes beneath it.

A category header for its whole life, FY2016 onwards. It has never been valid for submission on its own.

Submit one of these 3 more specific codes instead:

  • S20.422A Blister (nonthermal) of left back wall of thorax, initial encounter
  • S20.422D Blister (nonthermal) of left back wall of thorax, subsequent encounter
  • S20.422S Blister (nonthermal) of left back wall of thorax, sequela

This code requires a seventh character. See the rule below.

What has happened to this code

Every change the publisher made, from 2014 to now. Entries marked draft are from the pre-implementation releases: ICD-10 took effect on 1 October 2015, so nothing before FY2016 was ever valid on a claim.

  1. FY2014 Added to the draft code set draft Blister (nonthermal) of left back wall of thorax

Official coding rules

Published by CDC for FY2027. A rule attached to a category binds every code beneath it, so the rules inherited from this code's ancestors are shown with the code they come from.

Inherited from S20 Superficial injury of thorax

Seventh character required

  • The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S20

Inherited from the S20-S29 section Injuries to the thorax (S20-S29)

Excludes2 - not included here

  • burns and corrosions (T20-T32)
  • effects of foreign body in bronchus (T17.5)
  • effects of foreign body in esophagus (T18.1)
  • effects of foreign body in lung (T17.8)
  • effects of foreign body in trachea (T17.4)
  • frostbite (T33-T34)
  • injuries of axilla
  • injuries of clavicle
  • injuries of scapular region
  • injuries of shoulder
  • insect bite or sting, venomous (T63.4)

Includes

  • injuries of breast
  • injuries of chest (wall)
  • injuries of interscapular area

How CDC's index refers to this code

Wording from the official alphabetic index. Much of it appears nowhere in the code description, which is why a search for the everyday phrase so often finds nothing.

Codes in the same group

CodeDescriptionStatus
S20.421 Blister (nonthermal) of right back wall of thorax Not billable
S20.429 Blister (nonthermal) of unspecified back wall of thorax Not billable