A patient presents to the ed physician with multiple burns
Question:
What is the best way to treat burns?
Answer:
T24.392A, T21.31XA, T21.23XA, T22.232A, T31.20
Medical conditions are catalogued in ICD-10-CM, thus you can look up “Burn/lower/limb/multiple sites, except ankle and foot/left/third degree” there. Observe this route to reach T24.392. Third-degree burns are described all over the patient’s left lower extremity in T24.392, starting at the knee and finishing at or near the top of the patient’s foot. Third-degree burns on the left side of the chest are categorised as code T21.31 in the Alphabetic Index. You can find ICD-10-CM code T22.232, which is used to indicate burns above the left elbow, in the Alphabetic Index under the heading Burn/upper limb/above the elbow. Each code in the Tabular List requires seven characters. According to reports, the letter A (the seventh character) is the first one seen in the majority of burn codes. As a stopgap measure, the X ensures that the A will remain in position seven. The ultimate code to report is 24 for total body surface area burned (in percentage terms). For more information, consult the entry titled “Burn/extent (% of body surface)/20-29 percent” in the Index. Category T31 can be used to determine what proportion of the body is affected. The TBSA sign (number four) stands for total body surface area (all degree burstable). The fifth character stands for the proportion of the body that has suffered third-degree burns. Nine percent of those who describe the fifth personality also have third-degree burns. Using the Alphabetic Index, look for “Burn/extent/20-29 percent” to obtain T31.20, which is related to third degree burns with an extent of 0-9%.