T79.0 vs T81
T79.0 and T81 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 T79.0
air embolism following procedure NEC (T81.7-)
T79.0
Air embolism (traumatic)
Not billable
- Chapter 19
- Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes
- Section
- T79
Indexed under
- Air › embolism
- Embolism › air (multiple) (paradoxical)
- Air › embolism › traumatic
T81
Complications of procedures, not elsewhere classified
Not billable
- Chapter 19
- Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes
- Section
- T80-T88
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