Excludes1 pair
T79.0- vs T81-
T79.0 and T81 are not coded together. ICD-10-CM declares them mutually exclusive with an Excludes1 note — the two conditions are not expected to occur together, so exactly one of them is normally correct for a given encounter. The Official Guidelines carve out one exception: if the two conditions are clearly unrelated to each other, both may be reported.
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 (artery) (cerebral) (any site)
- Embolism › air (any site) (traumatic)
- 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