2026 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code P36.9Bacterial sepsis of newborn, unspecified

ICD-10-CM Codes›P00–P96›P35-P39›P36

ICD-10-CM P36.9
CMSSource: CMS FY 2026 ICD-10-CM dataset · Effective Oct 1, 2025 – Sep 30, 2026

P36.9 is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for bacterial sepsis of newborn, unspecified. It is valid on HIPAA claims for fiscal year 2026 (October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026). In AHRQ's Clinical Classifications Software (CCSR), this diagnosis falls under Bacterial infections, Perinatal infections, and Septicemia.

Code Identity

ICD-10-CM Code
P36.9
Billable Status
Yes — Valid for Submission
Code Describes
Bacterial sepsis of newborn, unspecified
Short Description
Bacterial sepsis of newborn, unspecified
Same as the full description in the CMS dataset.
Parent Code
P36
Bacterial sepsis of newborn

Code Classification

ChapterP00–P96Certain conditions originating in the perinatal period
SectionP35-P39Infections specific to the perinatal period
CategoryP36Bacterial sepsis of newborn
This CodeP36.9Bacterial sepsis of newborn, unspecified

Approximate SynonymsGuidance

Alternate terms and clinical phrases that map to this code.

  • Acquired neutropenia
  • Acquired neutropenia in newborn
  • Acute kidney injury due to sepsis
  • Acute lung injury
  • Acute respiratory distress
  • Bacterial sepsis
  • Bacterial sepsis of newborn
  • Clinical infection
  • Clinical sepsis
  • Early-onset neonatal sepsis
  • Encephalopathy with sepsis
  • Gastritis with sepsis
  • Gastrointestinal hemorrhage with sepsis
  • Gastrointestinal lesion with sepsis
  • Gastrointestinal ulceration due to sepsis
  • Indirect acute lung injury
  • Infection of blood and lymphatic system
  • Infection of bloodstream
  • Late-onset neonatal sepsis
  • Left ventricular failure with sepsis
  • Lemierre syndrome
  • Lung injury with sepsis
  • Myocardial dysfunction with sepsis
  • Perinatal sepsis
  • Respiratory distress
  • Right ventricular failure with sepsis
  • Sepsis
  • Sepsis due to and following procedure
  • Sepsis due to urinary tract infection
  • Sepsis of premature infant
  • Sepsis of the newborn
  • Sepsis with cutaneous manifestations
  • Sepsis without acute organ dysfunction
  • Sepsis without septic shock
  • Septic thrombophlebitis
  • Systemic inflammatory response syndrome
  • Systemic inflammatory response syndrome without organ dysfunction
  • Thrombophlebitis of internal jugular vein
  • Thrombosis of internal jugular vein
  • Transient neonatal neutropenia
  • Transient neonatal neutropenia due to neonatal bacterial sepsis
  • Transient respiratory distress with sepsis

Index to Diseases and InjuriesGuidance

Alphabetical index entries that point to this code.

External Cause of Injuries IndexGuidance

References for this code in the External Cause of Injuries Index.

    • Newborn(infant) (liveborn) (singleton)
      • sepsis (congenital)
    • Sepsis(generalized) (unspecified organism)
      • newborn

Clinical ClassificationClinical

AHRQ’s CCSR groups this code into broader clinical categories.

CCSR INF003
Bacterial infections
Default principal diagnosis: inpatient No · outpatient No
CCSR PNL009
Perinatal infections
Default principal diagnosis: inpatient Yes · outpatient Yes
CCSR INF002
Septicemia
Default principal diagnosis: inpatient No · outpatient No

Clinical InformationClinical

  • Lemierre Syndrome

    a superinfection of the damaged oropharyngeal mucosa by fusobacterium necrophorum leading to the secondary septic thrombophlebitis of the internal jugular vein.

  • Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome

    a systemic inflammatory response to a variety of clinical insults, characterized by two or more of the following conditions: (1) fever >38 degrees c or hypothermia <36 degrees c; (2) tachycardia >90 beat/minute; (3) tachypnea >24 breaths/minute; (4) leukocytosis >12,000 cells/cubic mm or 10% immature forms. while usually related to infection, sirs can also be associated with noninfectious insults such as trauma; burns; or pancreatitis. if infection is involved, a patient with sirs is said to have sepsis.

  • 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.

  • Burkholderia Infections

    infections with bacteria of the genus burkholderia.

  • Neonatal Sepsis

    blood infection that occurs in an infant younger than 90 days old. early-onset sepsis is seen in the first week of life and most often appears within 24 hours of birth. late-onset occurs after 1 week and before 3 months of age.

  • Pregnancy Complications, Infectious

    the co-occurrence of pregnancy and an infection. the infection may precede or follow fertilization.

  • Puerperal Infection

    an infection occurring in puerperium, the period of 6-8 weeks after giving birth.

  • Sepsis

    systemic inflammatory response syndrome with a proven or suspected infectious etiology. when sepsis is associated with organ dysfunction distant from the site of infection, it is called severe sepsis. when sepsis is accompanied by hypotension despite adequate fluid infusion, it is called septic shock.

  • Sepsis-Associated Encephalopathy

    acute neurological dysfunction during severe sepsis in the absence of direct brain infection characterized by systemic inflammation and blood brain barrier perturbation.

  • Burkholderia

    a genus of gram-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped bacteria originally classified as members of the pseudomonadaceae.

  • Clinical Infection

    an infection that exhibits features or characteristics that exceed an agreed-upon threshold among subject matter experts, which warrants attention or treatment.

  • Infectious Disorder|Clinical Infection|ID|INFECTION|Infection|Infection|Infectious|Infectious Disease|Infectious Disease|Infectious Disease|Infectious Diseases and Manifestations|Unspecified Infection|infection

    a disorder resulting from the presence and activity of a microbial, viral, fungal, or parasitic agent. it can be transmitted by direct or indirect contact.

  • Subclinical Infection|Asymptomatic Infection|Inapparent Infection

    infection associated with no detectable symptoms but caused by microorganisms capable of producing easily recognizable diseases, such a poliomyelitis or mumps.

Patient EducationClinical

Bacterial Infections

Bacteria are tiny organisms (living things) that have only one cell. Under a microscope, they look like balls, rods, or spirals. They can be found almost everywhere on Earth. There are lots of bacteria in and on your body. In fact, your body has about 10 times more bacteria cells than human cells.

The full article covers:

  • What are bacteria?
  • How do bacterial infections spread?
  • What are the treatments for bacterial infections?
  • Can bacterial infections be prevented?

Read the full article at MedlinePlus

Courtesy of MedlinePlus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Convert P36.9 to ICD-9-CMHistory

The closest ICD-9-CM equivalents under the General Equivalence Mappings.

ICD-9-CM
771.81 NB septicemia [sepsis]
Approximate The match is approximate rather than exact.

Code HistoryHistory

FY 2016AddedAdded to the ICD-10-CM code setEffective October 1, 2015, the first year of ICD-10-CM.
FY 2017–2025No changes
FY 2026CurrentCurrent code set, no changesEffective October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026.

Questions About P36.9Overview

Is P36.9 (Bacterial sepsis of newborn) a billable code?

Yes. This is a billable ICD-10-CM code, specific enough to report bacterial sepsis of newborn, unspecified on HIPAA-covered claims from October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026.

What is the ICD-9 equivalent of P36.9?

Under the General Equivalence Mappings, bacterial sepsis of newborn, unspecified converts to ICD-9-CM 771.81 (NB septicemia [sepsis]). The mapping is approximate, so confirm the match fits the documentation.

Footnotes

[1] Not chronic - A diagnosis code that does not fit the criteria for chronic condition (duration, ongoing medical treatment, and limitations) is considered not chronic. Some codes designated as not chronic are acute conditions. Other diagnosis codes that indicate a possible chronic condition, but for which the duration of the illness is not specified in the code description (i.e., we do not know the condition has lasted 12 months or longer) also are considered not chronic.