Q&A: Sepsis as a primary diagnosis

Q: If a physician documents sepsis due to decubitus ulcer and UTI due to indwelling catheter, can sepsis be coded as the primary diagnosis since it is due to both the ulcer and UTI?

 

A: This is an interesting question. If the sepsis results from an indwelling catheter or a complication of a device, the complication code would be sequenced first. In this instance, I would likely code the complication code first with sepsis as a secondary diagnosis.

 

However, clarification may be needed to determine whether the physician is actually stating that the UTI led to sepsis. Without the entire record, it is difficult to determine. Is the physician stating the sepsis is due to the decubitus ulcer and the UTI? Or is the provider stating sepsis due to decubitus ulcer and a secondary diagnosis of UTI due to indwelling catheter? If this differentiation is unclear, a query would be needed.

 

If the documentation supports the fact the sepsis is due to the decubitus ulcer only, then I would sequence the sepsis first. The Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting offer us much guidance related to the sequencing of sepsis. They clearly state that if the reason for admission is both sepsis and a localized infection, such as pneumonia or cellulitis, a code for the underlying systemic infection should be assigned first and a code for the localized infection should be assigned as a secondary diagnosis.

 

Now, another guideline is used when the sepsis results due to a surgery or device. So, if the provider has determined both the decubitus ulcer and the catheter associated infection contributed to the sepsis, we would follow the guidelines and coding conventions related to sepsis as a complication. We would assign the T83.51 code for the infection due to the device first, followed by the additional code to identify the infection as a secondary code.