ICD-10-CM › V00-Y99 › W20-W49 › W codes › W45

W45

Foreign body or object entering through skin

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 5 more specific codes instead:

  • W45.0 Nail entering through skin (also a header)
  • W45.1 Paper entering through skin (also a header)
  • W45.2 Lid of can entering through skin (also a header)
  • W45.3 Fishing hook entering through skin (also a header)
  • W45.8 Other foreign body or object entering through skin (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.

  1. FY2012 Added to the draft code set draft Foreign body or object entering through skin

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.

This code

Seventh character required

  • The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category W45

Excludes2 - not included here

  • contact with hand tools (nonpowered) (powered) (W27-W29)
  • contact with other sharp object(s) (W26.-)
  • contact with sharp glass (W25.-)
  • struck by objects (W20-W22)

Includes

  • foreign body or object embedded in skin
  • nail embedded in skin

Inherited from the W20-W49 section Exposure to inanimate mechanical forces (W20-W49)

Excludes1 - never coded here

  • assault (X92-Y09)
  • contact or collision with animals or persons (W50-W64)
  • exposure to inanimate mechanical forces involving military or war operations (Y36.-, Y37.-)
  • intentional self-harm (X71-X83)

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.