S06 vs S06.9
S06 and S06.9 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 S06.9
conditions classifiable to S06.0- to S06.8-code to specified intracranial injury
S06
Intracranial injury
Not billable
- Chapter 19
- Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes
- Section
- S00-S09
Use when the record says
- traumatic brain injury
S06.9
Unspecified intracranial injury
Not billable
- Chapter 19
- Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes
- Section
- S00-S09
Use when the record says
- Brain injury NOS
- Head injury NOS with loss of consciousness
- Traumatic brain injury NOS
Indexed under
- TBI (traumatic brain injury)
- Injury › brain
- Injury › intracranial
- Traumatic › brain injury
- Injury › head › with loss of consciousness
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