T71.9
Billable codeAsphyxiation due to unspecified cause
The ICD-10 code for asphyxiation due to unspecified cause is T71.9.
Clinical notes
Also known as
Alternate wording, synonyms, or specific conditions that fall under this code, listed to help confirm you've picked the right one.
- Suffocation (by strangulation) due to unspecified cause
- Suffocation NOS
- Systemic oxygen deficiency due to low oxygen content in ambient air due to unspecified cause
- Systemic oxygen deficiency due to mechanical threat to breathing due to unspecified cause
- Traumatic asphyxia NOS
Documentation support
General coding-documentation guidance — not a substitute for payer-specific requirements or professional coding judgment.
- •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.
- •As a general rule, code to the highest level of specificity supported by the documentation in the medical record.