S20.9
Header — not billableSuperficial injury of unspecified parts of thorax
The ICD-10 code for superficial injury of unspecified parts of thorax is S20.9.
S20.9 is a non-billable header code. It groups related conditions but cannot be used on its own for reimbursement — select one of the 7 more specific codes below.
Clinical notes
Excludes1 (not coded here)
An Excludes1 note is a pure exclusion: the excluded condition and this code should never be reported together, because the two conditions cannot occur at the same time (e.g. a congenital form vs. an acquired form of the same disease).
- contusion of thorax NOS (S20.20)
Documentation support
General coding-documentation guidance — not a substitute for payer-specific requirements or professional coding judgment.
- •This is a non-billable header code. Documentation must support a more specific child code before this diagnosis can be reported on a claim.
- •This code describes an unspecified presentation. If the medical record documents a more specific detail (e.g. laterality, type, or affected site), a more specific sibling code should be used instead — see Related codes below.
- •Confirm the excluded condition(s) listed above are not also present — Excludes1 conditions cannot be coded together with this one.
- •As a general rule, code to the highest level of specificity supported by the documentation in the medical record.
Child codes under S20.9
- S20.90Unspecified superficial injury of unspecified parts of thorax
- S20.91Abrasion of unspecified parts of thorax
- S20.92Blister (nonthermal) of unspecified parts of thorax
- S20.94External constriction of unspecified parts of thorax
- S20.95Superficial foreign body of unspecified parts of thorax
- S20.96Insect bite (nonvenomous) of unspecified parts of thorax
- S20.97Other superficial bite of unspecified parts of thorax
Related codes in this category
- S20.0Contusion of breastnon-billable header
- S20.1Other and unspecified superficial injuries of breastnon-billable header
- S20.2Contusion of thoraxnon-billable header
- S20.3Other and unspecified superficial injuries of front wall of thoraxnon-billable header
- S20.4Other and unspecified superficial injuries of back wall of thoraxnon-billable header
- S20.9Superficial injury of unspecified parts of thoraxnon-billable header