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ICD 10 Coding Alert

General Surgery:

Here's How to Distinguish 'Burns' from 'Corrosions' in ICD-10

Published on Sat Jan 01, 2011

You'll still need additional TBSA code.Reporting burns by body site/"degree" plus an additional code for total body surface area (TBSA) won't change when you start using ICD-10 in Oct. 2013. But reporting the cause of the burn will.ICD-10 Distinguishes Burn SourceA burn is a burn for ICD-9, but a burn may be a corrosion in ICD-10. "Corrosions" are chemical burns, and the new diagnosis coding system will allow your surgeon to make a distinction.Example: Let's say a patient has a second degree burn of the right thigh from accidentally spilling boiling water. Under ICD-9, you'd report the condition as 945.26 (Blisters with epidermal loss due to burn [second degree] of thigh [any part]). For ICD-10, you should list T24.211- (Burn of second degree of right thigh...).Now let's say you have the exact scenario, except the burn is from an accidental spill of a strong acid. With ICD-9 you would still [...]
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