2024 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code W88.8XXS

Exposure to other ionizing radiation, sequela

ICD-10-CM Code:
W88.8XXS
ICD-10 Code for:
Exposure to other ionizing radiation, sequela
Is Billable?
Yes - Valid for Submission
Code Navigator:

Code Classification

  • External causes of morbidity and mortality
    (V01–Y99)
    • Exposure to electric current, radiation and extreme ambient air temperature and pressure
      (W85-W99)
      • Exposure to ionizing radiation
        (W88)

W88.8XXS is a billable diagnosis code used to specify a medical diagnosis of exposure to other ionizing radiation, sequela. The code is valid during the current fiscal year for the submission of HIPAA-covered transactions from October 01, 2023 through September 30, 2024. The code is exempt from present on admission (POA) reporting for inpatient admissions to general acute care hospitals.

W88.8XXS is a sequela code, includes a 7th character and should be used for complications that arise as a direct result of a condition like exposure to other ionizing radiation. According to ICD-10-CM Guidelines a "sequela" code should be used for chronic or residual conditions that are complications of an initial acute disease, illness or injury. The most common sequela is pain. Usually, two diagnosis codes are needed when reporting sequela. The first code describes the nature of the sequela while the second code describes the sequela or late effect.

Approximate Synonyms

The following clinical terms are approximate synonyms or lay terms that might be used to identify the correct diagnosis code:

  • Acquired lordosis deformity of spine
  • Acute lung injury
  • Acute lung injury
  • Acute pulmonary radiation disease
  • Acute radiation disease
  • Acute radiation pneumonitis
  • Azoospermia caused by radiation
  • Cataract associated with radiation
  • Chondroradionecrosis of larynx
  • Chronic inflammation of small intestine caused by radiation
  • Chronic non-infective otitis externa
  • Chronic pulmonary radiation disease
  • Chronic radiation enteropathy of intestine
  • Chronic radiation otitis externa
  • Cicatricial alopecia due to ionizing radiation
  • Deformity of spine due to injury
  • Dementia following injury caused by exposure to ionizing radiation
  • Dermatitis as late effect of radiation
  • Dilated cardiomyopathy secondary to radiation
  • Duodenal ulcer caused by ionizing radiation
  • Duodenitis caused by ionizing radiation
  • Encephalopathy due to radiation damage
  • Exposure of patient to medical therapeutic radiation
  • Exposure to direct ionizing radiation from nuclear explosion
  • Exposure to ionizing radiation
  • Exposure to ionizing radiation from cosmic sources
  • Exposure to ionizing radiation from fall-out from nuclear explosion
  • Exposure to ionizing radiation from geological sources
  • Exposure to ionizing radiation from industrial sources
  • Exposure to ionizing radiation from medical sources
  • Exposure to ionizing radiation from nuclear waste
  • Exposure to ionizing radiation in nuclear fuel processing
  • Exposure to ionizing radiation in nuclear weapons manufacture
  • Exposure to medical diagnostic radiation
  • Exposure to medical therapeutic radiation
  • Exposure to radiation from nuclear explosion
  • Exposure to radiation from nuclear reactor
  • Exposure to radiation from nuclear reactor because of failure of containment
  • Exposure to radiation from nuclear reactor because of meltdown
  • Exposure to radiation from nuclear reactor because of reactor malfunction
  • Exposure to radioactive isotope
  • Fetal trauma
  • Fetal trauma
  • Fetus with radiation damage
  • Fetus with radiation damage with antenatal problem
  • Gastric ulcer caused by ionizing radiation
  • Heart disease due to ionizing radiation
  • Heart disease due to ionizing radiation
  • Hypospermatogenesis
  • Injury due to direct ionizing radiation from nuclear explosion
  • Injury due to nuclear explosion
  • Injury of salivary gland
  • Late effect of radiation
  • Late effect of radiation
  • Lordosis deformity of spine caused by radiation
  • Mediastinal radiation fibrosis
  • Middle ear effusion
  • Myocarditis due to physical agent
  • Myocarditis due to radiation
  • Necrosis due to ionizing radiation
  • Necrosis of brain caused by exposure to ionizing radiation
  • Necrosis of central nervous system due to exposure to ionizing radiation
  • Necrosis of central nervous system due to exposure to ionizing radiation
  • Necrosis of larynx
  • Necrosis of temporal lobe caused by exposure to ionizing radiation
  • Neuropathic pain due to radiation
  • Neuropathy due to ionizing radiation
  • Neuropathy due to ionizing radiation
  • Neuropathy due to ionizing radiation
  • Oligozoospermia
  • Oligozoospermia caused by radiation
  • Oral ulceration due to radiation burn
  • Osteoradionecrosis of bone of skull
  • Osteoradionecrosis of bone of skull
  • Osteoradionecrosis of bone of skull
  • Osteoradionecrosis of clivus
  • Osteoradionecrosis of external auditory canal
  • Osteoradionecrosis of the frontal bone
  • Osteoradionecrosis of the nasal-orbital complex
  • Osteoradionecrosis of the sphenoid bone
  • Osteoradionecrosis of the temporal bone
  • Overexposure to artificially accelerated beams of ionized particles generated by betatrons
  • Overexposure to artificially accelerated beams of ionized particles generated by synchrotrons
  • Radiation alopecia
  • Radiation alopecia
  • Radiation damage to artery
  • Radiation damage to brachial plexus
  • Radiation damage to optic nerve
  • Radiation dermatitis
  • Radiation esophagitis
  • Radiation gastritis
  • Radiation hepatitis
  • Radiation induced enteritis of small intestine
  • Radiation induced enteritis of small intestine
  • Radiation injury
  • Radiation injury of bone
  • Radiation injury of bone marrow
  • Radiation injury of cranial nerve
  • Radiation injury of eyelid
  • Radiation injury of peripheral nerve
  • Radiation injury of peripheral nerve
  • Radiation middle ear effusion
  • Radiation pneumonitis
  • Radiation polyneuropathy
  • Radiation radiculopathy
  • Radiation respiratory disease
  • Radiation retinopathy
  • Radiation retinopathy
  • Radiation stricture of vein
  • Radiation thrombocytopenia
  • Radiation ulcer of esophagus
  • Radiational injury of sclera
  • Radiational injury to conjunctiva
  • Radiation-induced fibrous mediastinitis
  • Radiation-induced keratosis
  • Radiation-induced mucositis of oral mucous membranes
  • Radiation-induced stricture of esophagus
  • Radiation-induced xerostomia
  • Retinopathy as late effect of radiation
  • Sclerosing mediastinitis
  • Stenosis of external auditory canal caused by ionizing radiation
  • Stricture of esophagus
  • Stricture of vein
  • Subacute radiation sickness
  • Traumatic optic nerve injury
  • Traumatic oral ulceration
  • Traumatic ulcer of small intestine
  • Ulcer of small intestine caused by radiation
  • Ulcer of small intestine caused by radiation
  • War injury due to exposure to ionizing radiation from nuclear weapon
  • War injury due to nuclear weapons
  • Xerostomia

Clinical Classification

Clinical Information

  • Acute Lung Injury

    a condition of lung damage that is characterized by bilateral pulmonary infiltrates (pulmonary edema) rich in neutrophils, and in the absence of clinical heart failure. this can represent a spectrum of pulmonary lesions, endothelial and epithelial, due to numerous factors (physical, chemical, or biological).
  • Transfusion-Related Acute Lung Injury

    a rare but serious transfusion-related reaction in which fluid builds up in the lungs unrelated to excessively high infusion rate and/or volume (transfusion-associated circulatory overload). signs of transfusion-related acute lung injury include pulmonary secretions; hypotension; fever; dyspnea; tachypnea; tachycardia; and cyanosis.
  • Radiation Pneumonitis

    inflammation of the lung due to harmful effects of ionizing or non-ionizing radiation.
  • Xerostomia

    decreased salivary flow.
  • Radiation Retinopathy

    injury of the retina following exposure to radiation. the retinal injury results from occlusive microangiopathy caused by endothelial cell loss.

Present on Admission (POA)

W88.8XXS is exempt from POA reporting - The Present on Admission (POA) indicator is used for diagnosis codes included in claims involving inpatient admissions to general acute care hospitals. POA indicators must be reported to CMS on each claim to facilitate the grouping of diagnoses codes into the proper Diagnostic Related Groups (DRG). CMS publishes a listing of specific diagnosis codes that are exempt from the POA reporting requirement. Review other POA exempt codes here.

CMS POA Indicator Options and Definitions

POA IndicatorReason for CodeCMS will pay the CC/MCC DRG?
YDiagnosis was present at time of inpatient admission.YES
NDiagnosis was not present at time of inpatient admission.NO
UDocumentation insufficient to determine if the condition was present at the time of inpatient admission.NO
WClinically undetermined - unable to clinically determine whether the condition was present at the time of inpatient admission.YES
1Unreported/Not used - Exempt from POA reporting. NO

Convert W88.8XXS to ICD-9-CM

  • ICD-9-CM Code: E929.8 - Late eff accident NEC
    Approximate Flag - The approximate mapping means there is not an exact match between the ICD-10 and ICD-9 codes and the mapped code is not a precise representation of the original code.

Patient Education


Radiation Exposure

What is radiation?

Radiation is energy. It travels in the form of energy waves or high-speed particles. Radiation can occur naturally or be man-made. There are two types:

  • Non-ionizing radiation, which includes radio waves, cell phones, microwaves, infrared radiation and visible light
  • Ionizing radiation, which includes ultraviolet radiation, radon, x-rays, and gamma rays

What are the sources of radiation exposure?

Background radiation is all around us all the time. Most of it forms naturally from minerals. These radioactive minerals are in the ground, soil, water, and even our bodies. Background radiation can also come from outer space and the sun. Other sources are man-made, such as x-rays, radiation therapy to treat cancer, and electrical power lines.

What are the health effects of radiation exposure?

Radiation has been around us throughout our evolution. So our bodies are designed to deal with the low levels we're exposed to every day. But too much radiation can damage tissues by changing cell structure and damaging DNA. This can cause serious health problems, including cancer.

The amount of damage that exposure to radiation can cause depends on several factors, including:

  • The type of radiation
  • The dose (amount) of radiation
  • How you were exposed, such as through skin contact, swallowing or breathing it in, or having rays pass through your body
  • Where the radiation concentrates in the body and how long it stays there
  • How sensitive your body is to radiation. A fetus is most vulnerable to the effects of radiation. Infants, children, older adults, pregnant women, and people with compromised immune systems are more vulnerable to health effects than healthy adults.

Being exposed to a lot of radiation over a short period of time, such as from a radiation emergency, can cause skin burns. It may also lead to acute radiation syndrome (ARS, or "radiation sickness"). The symptoms of ARS include headache and diarrhea. They usually start within hours. Those symptoms will go away and the person will seem healthy for a little while. But then they will get sick again. How soon they get sick again, which symptoms they have, and how sick they get depends on the amount of radiation they received. In some cases, ARS causes death in the following days or weeks.

Exposure to low levels of radiation in the environment does not cause immediate health effects. But it can slightly increase your overall risk of cancer.

What are the treatments for acute radiation sickness?

Before they start treatment, health care professionals need to figure out how much radiation your body absorbed. They will ask about your symptoms, do blood tests, and may use a device that measures radiation. They also try get more information about the exposure, such as what type of radiation it was, how far away you were from the source of the radiation, and how long you were exposed.

Treatment focuses on reducing and treating infections, preventing dehydration, and treating injuries and burns. Some people may need treatments that help the bone marrow recover its function. If you were exposed to certain types of radiation, your provider may give you a treatment that limits or removes the contamination that is inside your body. You may also get treatments for your symptoms.

How can radiation exposure be prevented?

There are steps you can take to prevent or reduce radiation exposure:

  • If your health care provider recommends a test that uses radiation, ask about its risks and benefits. In some cases, you may be able to have a different test that does not use radiation. But if you do need a test that uses radiation, do some research into the local imaging facilities. Find one that monitors and uses techniques to reduce the doses they are giving patients.
  • Reduce electromagnetic radiation exposure from your cell phone. At this time, scientific evidence has not found a link between cell phone use and health problems in humans. More research is needed to be sure. But if you still have concerns, you can reduce how much time you spend on your phone. You can also use speaker mode or a headset to place more distance between your head and the cell phone.
  • If you live in a house, test the radon levels, and if you need to, get a radon reduction system.
  • During a radiation emergency, get inside a building to take shelter. Stay inside, with all of the windows and doors shut. Stay tuned to and follow the advice of emergency responders and officials.

Environmental Protection Agency


[Learn More in MedlinePlus]

Code History

  • FY 2024 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2023 through 9/30/2024
  • FY 2023 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2022 through 9/30/2023
  • FY 2022 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2021 through 9/30/2022
  • FY 2021 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2020 through 9/30/2021
  • FY 2020 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2019 through 9/30/2020
  • FY 2019 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2018 through 9/30/2019
  • FY 2018 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2017 through 9/30/2018
  • FY 2017 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2016 through 9/30/2017
  • FY 2016 - New Code, effective from 10/1/2015 through 9/30/2016. This was the first year ICD-10-CM was implemented into the HIPAA code set.