Exposure to excessive cold of man-made origin (W93)
The ICD-10 code W93 covers injuries caused by exposure to excessive cold originating from human-made sources. This section includes specific codes for incidents such as contact with or inhalation of dry ice or liquid air and prolonged exposure to deep freeze units or refrigerators.
These codes are particularly used to document and classify accidents involving substances like dry ice (solid carbon dioxide) and liquid air, which includes liquid nitrogen, oxygen, and hydrogen. For example, W93.01XA identifies an initial encounter for injury due to contact with dry ice, commonly referred to as an "accident due to dry ice." Similarly, W93.11XA reports injuries from contact with liquid air, also known as "cold burn – liquid nitrogen" or other chemical cold exposure. The section further accounts for prolonged exposure in freezing environments, such as deep freeze units or refrigerators, with codes like W93.2XXA. These designations help medical coders accurately capture the cause and nature of cold-related injuries from man-made sources, supporting precise documentation for healthcare and billing purposes.
- W93 - Exposure to excessive cold of man-made origin
- W93.0 - Contact with or inhalation of dry ice
- W93.01 - Contact with dry ice
- W93.02 - Inhalation of dry ice
- W93.1 - Contact with or inhalation of liquid air
- W93.11 - Contact with liquid air
- W93.12 - Inhalation of liquid air
- W93.2 - Prolonged exposure in deep freeze unit or refrigerat
- W93.8 - Exposure to other excessive cold of man-made origin
External causes of morbidity and mortality (V01–Y99)
Exposure to electric current, radiation and extreme ambient air temperature and pressure (W85-W99)
W93 Exposure to excessive cold of man-made origin
W93.0 Contact with or inhalation of dry ice
W93.01 Contact with dry ice
- W93.01XA Contact with dry ice, initial encounter
- W93.01XD Contact with dry ice, subsequent encounter
- W93.01XS Contact with dry ice, sequela
W93.02 Inhalation of dry ice
- W93.02XA Inhalation of dry ice, initial encounter
- W93.02XD Inhalation of dry ice, subsequent encounter
- W93.02XS Inhalation of dry ice, sequela
W93.1 Contact with or inhalation of liquid air
W93.11 Contact with liquid air
- W93.11XA Contact with liquid air, initial encounter
- W93.11XD Contact with liquid air, subsequent encounter
- W93.11XS Contact with liquid air, sequela
W93.12 Inhalation of liquid air
- W93.12XA Inhalation of liquid air, initial encounter
- W93.12XD Inhalation of liquid air, subsequent encounter
- W93.12XS Inhalation of liquid air, sequela
W93.2 Prolonged exposure in deep freeze unit or refrigerator
- W93.2XXA Prolonged exposure in deep freeze unit or refrigerator, initial encounter
- W93.2XXD Prolonged exposure in deep freeze unit or refrigerator, subsequent encounter
- W93.2XXS Prolonged exposure in deep freeze unit or refrigerator, sequela
W93.8 Exposure to other excessive cold of man-made origin
- W93.8XXA Exposure to other excessive cold of man-made origin, initial encounter
- W93.8XXD Exposure to other excessive cold of man-made origin, subsequent encounter
- W93.8XXS Exposure to other excessive cold of man-made origin, sequela
Exposure to excessive cold of man-made origin (W93)
Instructional Notations
7th Character Note
Certain ICD-10-CM categories have applicable 7th characters. The applicable 7th character is required for all codes within the category, or as the notes in the Tabular List instruct. The 7th character must always be the 7th character in the data field. If a code that requires a 7th character is not 6 characters, a placeholder X must be used to fill in the empty characters.
- The appropriate 7th character is to be added to each code from category W93
7th Character
Indicates that a seventh character is to be assigned to codes in a subcategory.
- A - initial encounter
- D - subsequent encounter
- S - sequela
