Burns ICD-10-CM codes

Burns and corrosions of the skin are coded by site in T20 through T25 (T20 head and neck, T21 trunk, T22 shoulder and upper limb except wrist and hand, T23 wrist and hand, T24 hip and lower limb except ankle and foot, T25 ankle and foot). The fourth character is the degree: 0 unspecified, 1 first degree, 2 second degree, 3 third degree, with 4 through 7 for corrosions (chemical burns) of the same degrees. The fifth and sixth characters give the specific site and laterality, as in T22.211A (second-degree burn of the right forearm) or T22.60XA (corrosion of unspecified degree of the upper limb). The seventh character is A initial, D subsequent, or S sequela.

Sequence the burn of the highest degree first. When burns of different degrees involve the same site, code only the highest degree. Category T31 (burns) and T32 (corrosions) report the total body surface area: the fourth character is the total percentage burned and the fifth the percentage with third-degree burns, so T31.0 is under 10 percent, T31.10 is 10 to 19 percent with under 10 percent third degree, and T31.11 is 10 to 19 percent with 10 to 19 percent third degree. Per the guidelines, T31 and T32 are additional codes when the site is documented and may be the only code when the site is not specified (T30.0 is a burn of unspecified body region and should be avoided). Burn units and payers commonly require the T31 code on every burn record.

Nonhealing or infected burns are still coded as acute burns; add the infection code. Late effects such as scarring are reported with the S sequela character and the code for the effect (L90.5 scar). Sunburn is L55.- (L55.9), not a T code. Add the external cause code on the initial encounter: X10.0XXA hot drinks, X12.XXXA hot tap water, X19.XXXA unspecified heat or hot substance.