2021 ICD-10-CM Code O85
Puerperal sepsis
Valid for Submission
O85 is a billable diagnosis code used to specify a medical diagnosis of puerperal sepsis. The code O85 is valid during the fiscal year 2021 from October 01, 2020 through September 30, 2021 for the submission of HIPAA-covered transactions.
The ICD-10-CM code O85 might also be used to specify conditions or terms like postnatal infection, postnatal infection, postnatal infection, puerperal pelvic sepsis, puerperal peritonitis , puerperal peritonitis - delivered with postnatal complication, etc.
The code O85 is applicable to female patients aged 12 through 55 years inclusive. It is clinically and virtually impossible to use this code on a non-female patient outside the stated age range.
Code Classification
Tabular List of Diseases and Injuries
The Tabular List of Diseases and Injuries is a list of ICD-10 codes, organized "head to toe" into chapters and sections with guidance for inclusions, exclusions, descriptions and more. The following references are applicable to the code O85:
Inclusion Terms
Inclusion TermsThese terms are the conditions for which that code is to be used. The terms may be synonyms of the code title, or, in the case of "other specified" codes, the terms are a list of the various conditions assigned to that code. The inclusion terms are not necessarily exhaustive. Additional terms found only in the Alphabetic Index may also be assigned to a code.
- Postpartum sepsis
- Puerperal peritonitis
- Puerperal pyemia
Use Additional Code
Use Additional CodeThe “use additional code” indicates that a secondary code could be used to further specify the patient’s condition. This note is not mandatory and is only used if enough information is available to assign an additional code.
Type 1 Excludes
Type 1 ExcludesA type 1 excludes note is a pure excludes note. It means "NOT CODED HERE!" An Excludes1 note indicates that the code excluded should never be used at the same time as the code above the Excludes1 note. An Excludes1 is used when two conditions cannot occur together, such as a congenital form versus an acquired form of the same condition.
- fever of unknown origin following delivery O86.4
- genital tract infection following delivery O86.1
- obstetric pyemic and septic embolism O88.3
- puerperal septic thrombophlebitis O86.81
- urinary tract infection following delivery O86.2
Type 2 Excludes
Type 2 ExcludesA type 2 excludes note represents "Not included here". An excludes2 note indicates that the condition excluded is not part of the condition represented by the code, but a patient may have both conditions at the same time. When an Excludes2 note appears under a code, it is acceptable to use both the code and the excluded code together, when appropriate.
- sepsis during labor O75.3
Index to Diseases and Injuries
The Index to Diseases and Injuries is an alphabetical listing of medical terms, with each term mapped to one or more ICD-10 code(s). The following references for the code O85 are found in the index:
- - Abscess (connective tissue) (embolic) (fistulous) (infective) (metastatic) (multiple) (pernicious) (pyogenic) (septic) - L02.91
- - Infection, infected, infective (opportunistic) - B99.9
- - major
- - puerperal - O86.4
- - major or generalized - O85
- - Pelviperitonitis - See Also: Peritonitis, pelvic;
- - puerperal - O85
- - Peritonitis (adhesive) (bacterial) (fibrinous) (hemorrhagic) (idiopathic) (localized) (perforative) (primary) (with adhesions) (with effusion) - K65.9
- - Puerperal, puerperium (complicated by, complications)
- - abscess
- - peritoneum - O85
- - fever (of unknown origin) - O86.4
- - septic - O85
- - infection - O86.4
- - generalized - O85
- - peritoneum - O85
- - metroperitonitis - O85
- - parametritis - O85
- - pelviperitonitis - O85
- - peritoneal infection - O85
- - peritonitis (pelvic) - O85
- - pyemia - O85
- - pyohemia - O85
- - salpingoperitonitis - O85
- - sepsis (pelvic) - O85
- - sepsis - O85
- - abscess
- - Pyemia, pyemic (fever) (infection) (purulent) - See Also: Sepsis;
Code Edits
The Medicare Code Editor (MCE) detects and reports errors in the coding of claims data. The following ICD-10 Code Edits are applicable to this code:
- Maternity diagnoses - The Medicare Code Editor detects inconsistencies in maternity cases by checking a patient's age and any diagnosis on the patient's record. The maternity code edits apply to patients age ange is 9–64 years inclusive (e.g., diabetes in pregnancy, antepartum pulmonary complication).
- Diagnoses for females only - The Medicare Code Editor detects inconsistencies between a patient’s sex and any diagnosis on the patient’s record, these edits apply to FEMALES only .
Approximate Synonyms
The following clinical terms are approximate synonyms or lay terms that might be used to identify the correct diagnosis code:
- Postnatal infection
- Postnatal infection
- Postnatal infection
- Puerperal pelvic sepsis
- Puerperal peritonitis
- Puerperal peritonitis - delivered with postnatal complication
- Puerperal peritonitis with postnatal complication
- Puerperal sepsis
- Puerperal sepsis with postnatal complication
- Puerperal septicemia - delivered with postnatal complication
- Sepsis following obstructed labor
Convert O85 to ICD-9 Code
The General Equivalency Mapping (GEM) crosswalk indicates an approximate mapping between the ICD-10 code O85 its ICD-9 equivalent. The approximate mapping means there is not an exact match between the ICD-10 code and the ICD-9 code and the mapped code is not a precise representation of the original code.
Information for Patients
Infections and Pregnancy
During pregnancy, some common infections like the common cold or a skin infection do not usually cause serious problems. But other infections can be dangerous to you, your baby, or both. Some infections may lead to preterm birth and low birth weight babies. Others can cause serious illness, birth defects, and lifelong disabilities, such as hearing loss or learning problems.
Some of the infections that can be dangerous during pregnancy include
- Bacterial vaginosis (BV)
- Group B strep (GBS)
- Hepatitis
- Sexually transmitted diseases
- Toxoplasmosis
- Urinary tract infections
- Yeast infections
- Zika virus
To try to prevent infections,
- Don't eat raw or undercooked meat
- Don't share food or drinks with other people
- Wash your hands frequently
- Don't empty cat litter. Cats can transmit toxoplasmosis.
If you do get an infection during pregnancy, contact your health care provider about how best to protect you and your baby. Only some medicines are safe during pregnancy.
- Group B streptococcal septicemia of the newborn (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Group B streptococcus - pregnancy (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Immunization and Pregnancy (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Pregnancy and the flu (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Pregnant Women Need a Flu Shot (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Protect Your Baby for Life: When a Pregnant Woman Has Hepatitis B (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
- Toxoplasmosis: An Important Message for Women (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
[Learn More]
Postpartum Care
Also called: Post-pregnancy health
Taking home a new baby is one of the happiest times in a woman's life. But it also presents both physical and emotional challenges.
- Get as much rest as possible. You may find that all you can do is eat, sleep, and care for your baby. And that is perfectly okay. You will have spotting or bleeding, like a menstrual period, off and on for up to six weeks.
- You might also have swelling in your legs and feet, feel constipated, have menstrual-like cramping. Even if you are not breastfeeding, you can have milk leaking from your nipples, and your breasts might feel full, tender, or uncomfortable.
- Follow your doctor's instructions on how much activity, like climbing stairs or walking, you can do for the next few weeks.
- Doctors usually recommend that you abstain from sexual intercourse for four to six weeks after birth.
In addition to physical changes, you may feel sad or have the "baby blues." If you are extremely sad or are unable to care for yourself or your baby, you might have a serious condition called postpartum depression.
Dept. of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health
- After vaginal delivery - in the hospital (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Losing weight after pregnancy (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Questions to ask your doctor about going home with your baby (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Questions to ask your doctor about post pregnancy care (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Vaginal delivery - discharge (Medical Encyclopedia)
[Learn More]
Sepsis
Sepsis is a serious illness. It happens when your body has an overwhelming immune response to a bacterial infection. The chemicals released into the blood to fight the infection trigger widespread inflammation. This leads to blood clots and leaky blood vessels. They cause poor blood flow, which deprives your body's organs of nutrients and oxygen. In severe cases, one or more organs fail. In the worst cases, blood pressure drops and the heart weakens, leading to septic shock.
Anyone can get sepsis, but the risk is higher in
- People with weakened immune systems
- Infants and children
- Adults 65 and older
- People with chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, AIDS, cancer, and kidney or liver disease
- People suffering from a severe burn or physical trauma
Common symptoms of sepsis are fever, chills, rapid breathing and heart rate, rash, confusion, and disorientation. Doctors diagnose sepsis using a blood test to see if the number of white blood cells is abnormal. They also do lab tests that check for signs of infection.
People with sepsis are usually treated in hospital intensive care units. Doctors try to treat the infection, sustain the vital organs, and prevent a drop in blood pressure. Many patients receive oxygen and intravenous (IV) fluids. Other types of treatment, such as respirators or kidney dialysis, may be necessary. Sometimes, surgery is needed to clear up an infection.
NIH: National Institute of General Medical Sciences
- Blood culture (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Group B streptococcal septicemia of the newborn (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Neonatal sepsis (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Sepsis (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Septic shock (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Septicemia (Medical Encyclopedia)
- Toxic shock syndrome (Medical Encyclopedia)
[Learn More]
Code History
- 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 (First year ICD-10-CM implemented into the HIPAA code set)