ICD-10-CM › S00-T88 › S80-S89 › S81.04 Puncture wound with foreign body of knee › S81.049

S81.049

Puncture wound with foreign body, unspecified knee

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:

  • S81.049A Puncture wound with foreign body, unspecified knee, initial encounter
  • S81.049D Puncture wound with foreign body, unspecified knee, subsequent encounter
  • S81.049S Puncture wound with foreign body, unspecified knee, 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 Puncture wound with foreign body, unspecified knee

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 S81 Open wound of knee and lower leg

Seventh character required

  • The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category S81

Excludes1 - never coded here

  • open fracture of knee and lower leg (S82.-)
  • traumatic amputation of lower leg (S88.-)

Excludes2 - not included here

  • open wound of ankle and foot (S91.-)

Code also

  • any associated wound infection

Inherited from the S80-S89 section Injuries to the knee and lower leg (S80-S89)

Excludes2 - not included here

  • burns and corrosions (T20-T32)
  • frostbite (T33-T34)
  • injuries of ankle and foot, except fracture of ankle and malleolus (S90-S99)
  • 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.

Codes in the same group

CodeDescriptionStatus
S81.041 Puncture wound with foreign body, right knee Not billable
S81.042 Puncture wound with foreign body, left knee Not billable