ICD-10-CM › S00-T88 › T15-T19 › T18 Foreign body in alimentary tract › T18.1
Foreign body in esophagus
Not billableICD-10-CM diagnosis code.
This code exists but cannot be submitted on its own. It groups the more specific codes beneath it.
Submit one of these 4 more specific codes instead:
- T18.10 Unspecified foreign body in esophagus (also a header)
- T18.11 Gastric contents in esophagus (also a header)
- T18.12 Food in esophagus (also a header)
- T18.19 Other foreign object in esophagus (also a header)
This code requires a seventh character. See the rule below.
What has happened to this code
Every change the publisher made, from 2012 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.
- FY2012 Added to the draft code set draft Foreign body in esophagus
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 T18 Foreign body in alimentary tract
Seventh character required
- The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category T18
Excludes2 - not included here
- foreign body in pharynx (T17.2-)
Inherited from the T15-T19 section Effects of foreign body entering through natural orifice (T15-T19)
Excludes2 - not included here
- foreign body accidentally left in operation wound (T81.5-)
- foreign body in penetrating wound - See open wound by body region
- residual foreign body in soft tissue (M79.5)
- splinter, without open wound - See superficial injury by body region
Use additional code
- code, if known, for foreign body entering into or through a natural orifice (W44.-)
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.
- Threat to breathing > aspiration
- Aspiration > food
- Choked, choking > food
- Food in > air passages
- Compression > trachea by > food
- Asphyxia, asphyxiation > by > food
- Food in > alimentary tract causing asphyxia
Codes in the same group
| Code | Description | Status |
|---|---|---|
| T18.0 | Foreign body in mouth | Not billable |
| T18.2 | Foreign body in stomach | Not billable |
| T18.3 | Foreign body in small intestine | Not billable |
| T18.4 | Foreign body in colon | Not billable |
| T18.5 | Foreign body in anus and rectum | Not billable |
| T18.8 | Foreign body in other parts of alimentary tract | Not billable |
| T18.9 | Foreign body of alimentary tract, part unspecified | Not billable |