Nondisplaced comminuted fracture of shaft of ulna, left arm

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 16 more specific codes instead:

S52.255A Nondisplaced comminuted fracture of shaft of ulna, left arm, initial encounter for closed fracture
S52.255B Nondisplaced comminuted fracture of shaft of ulna, left arm, initial encounter for open fracture type I or II
S52.255C Nondisplaced comminuted fracture of shaft of ulna, left arm, initial encounter for open fracture type IIIA, IIIB, or IIIC
S52.255D Nondisplaced comminuted fracture of shaft of ulna, left arm, subsequent encounter for closed fracture with routine healing
S52.255E Nondisplaced comminuted fracture of shaft of ulna, left arm, subsequent encounter for open fracture type I or II with routine healing
S52.255F Nondisplaced comminuted fracture of shaft of ulna, left arm, subsequent encounter for open fracture type IIIA, IIIB, or IIIC with routine healing
S52.255G Nondisplaced comminuted fracture of shaft of ulna, left arm, subsequent encounter for closed fracture with delayed healing
S52.255H Nondisplaced comminuted fracture of shaft of ulna, left arm, subsequent encounter for open fracture type I or II with delayed healing
S52.255J Nondisplaced comminuted fracture of shaft of ulna, left arm, subsequent encounter for open fracture type IIIA, IIIB, or IIIC with delayed healing
S52.255K Nondisplaced comminuted fracture of shaft of ulna, left arm, subsequent encounter for closed fracture with nonunion
S52.255M Nondisplaced comminuted fracture of shaft of ulna, left arm, subsequent encounter for open fracture type I or II with nonunion
S52.255N Nondisplaced comminuted fracture of shaft of ulna, left arm, subsequent encounter for open fracture type IIIA, IIIB, or IIIC with nonunion
S52.255P Nondisplaced comminuted fracture of shaft of ulna, left arm, subsequent encounter for closed fracture with malunion
S52.255Q Nondisplaced comminuted fracture of shaft of ulna, left arm, subsequent encounter for open fracture type I or II with malunion
S52.255R Nondisplaced comminuted fracture of shaft of ulna, left arm, subsequent encounter for open fracture type IIIA, IIIB, or IIIC with malunion
S52.255S Nondisplaced comminuted fracture of shaft of ulna, left arm, 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.

FY2014 Added to the draft code set draft Nondisplaced comminuted fracture of shaft of ulna, left arm

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 S52 Fracture of forearm

Seventh character required

The appropriate 7th character is to be added to all codes from category S52

Seventh character values

initial encounter for open fracture NOS

Excludes1 - never coded here

traumatic amputation of forearm (S58.-)

Excludes2 - not included here

fracture at wrist and hand level (S62.-)
periprosthetic fracture around internal prosthetic elbow joint (M97.4)

Note

A fracture not indicated as displaced or nondisplaced should be coded to displaced
A fracture not indicated as open or closed should be coded to closed
The open fracture designations are based on the Gustilo open fracture classification

Inherited from the S50-S59 section Injuries to the elbow and forearm (S50-S59)

Excludes2 - not included here

burns and corrosions (T20-T32)
frostbite (T33-T34)
injuries of wrist and hand (S60-S69)
insect bite or sting, venomous (T63.4)

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.

Fracture, traumatic > ulna > shaft > comminuted
Fracture, traumatic > ulna > shaft > comminuted > nondisplaced

Codes in the same group

Code	Description	Status
S52.251	Displaced comminuted fracture of shaft of ulna, right arm	Not billable
S52.252	Displaced comminuted fracture of shaft of ulna, left arm	Not billable
S52.253	Displaced comminuted fracture of shaft of ulna, unspecified arm	Not billable
S52.254	Nondisplaced comminuted fracture of shaft of ulna, right arm	Not billable
S52.256	Nondisplaced comminuted fracture of shaft of ulna, unspecified arm	Not billable