K65 vs O85
K65 and O85 can never be reported together. ICD-10-CM declares them mutually exclusive with an Excludes1 note, meaning the two conditions cannot occur in the same patient — so exactly one of them is correct for any given encounter.
The official note, declared on K65
puerperal peritonitis (O85)
O85
Puerperal sepsis
Billable
- Chapter 15
- Pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium
- Section
- O85-O92
Use when the record says
- Postpartum sepsis
- Puerperal peritonitis
- Puerperal pyemia
Indexed under
- Pelviperitonitis › puerperal
- Peritonitis › puerperal, postpartum, childbirth (adhesive) (bacterial) (fibrinous) (hemorrhagic) (idiopathic) (localized) (perforative) (primary) (with adhesions) (with effusion)
- Puerperal, puerperium › metroperitonitis (complicated by, complications)
- Puerperal, puerperium › parametritis (complicated by, complications)
- Puerperal, puerperium › pelviperitonitis (complicated by, complications)
These two codes sit in different chapters of the Tabular List, which is usually the clearest signal that they describe different underlying processes rather than different degrees of the same one.
Excludes1 is not always absolute: where two conditions covered by the note are genuinely unrelated, CMS guidance permits reporting both. Document the reasoning rather than assuming it. More on Excludes1 vs Excludes2 · FY2027