Answers to your AIS coding dilemmas ……comments and correct answers are posted at the end of the month
Q: A person with a full bladder is struck by a car while crossing the street. He is able to ambulate but experiences severe abdominal pain and faints. In the ED he has low volume hematuria and the FAST scan shows intraperitoneal fluid. He is taken to surgery and repair of a 3cm laceration on the posterior surface of the dome of his bladder is done. Please code this bladder injury.
Q: MVC with man trapped at the Left knee by the dashboard. Upon extrication he has gross deformity at the knee with large blood loss and no sensation or movement in the L lower leg, no pedal pulse. Diagnostics indicate open severely comminuted distal L femur fracture with all ligaments in disruption to the knee. There is also an open midshaft fracture of the left tibia. An above the knee amputation was done on day 2. Please code the L lower extremity injuries
A: Code the injury at the L knee as a crush injury at or above the knee code 813002.4, bone, soft tissue, vascular and nerve were all involved. You would also code the open L mid shaft tibia fx even though the leg was amputated this was still an injury
Permalink Comments off