T31.74

Billable

Burns involving 70-79% of body surface with 40-49% third degree burns

HCC Category Mapping

V28HCC 385 — Severe Skin Burn or Condition

0.350

V24HCC 162 — Severe Skin Burn or Condition

0.517

ESRDHCC 162 — Severe Skin Burn or Condition

0.000

What This Code Means

Extensive burns covering 70-79% of the body surface with 40-49% being third-degree burns that destroy all skin layers.

Coding Tips

•Verify that documentation specifies third-degree burns comprise 40-49% of the total affected area
•These critical injuries have high mortality risk and require comprehensive burn center documentation

Clinical Significance

This represents a life-threatening burn injury with extensive body surface involvement and nearly half being full-thickness burns. These patients require immediate burn center management with intensive multidisciplinary care and have extremely high morbidity risk.

Documentation Requirements

✓Total body surface area (TBSA) calculated as 70-79%
✓Third-degree burns comprising 40-49% of body surface
✓Validated burn assessment chart documentation
✓Complete anatomical burn distribution
✓Burn etiology and mechanism specification
✓Comprehensive burn depth classification
✓Associated injuries and complications
✓Initial treatment protocols and responses

Commonly Confused Codes

T31.73 — 30-39% third-degree versus 40-49% third-degree T31.75 — 50-59% third-degree versus 40-49% third-degree T31.64 — Total TBSA 60-69% versus 70-79%T32.74 — Chemical corrosion versus thermal burn T31.84 — Total TBSA 80-89% versus 70-79%

Code Hierarchy

└T31Burns classified according to extent of body surface involved └T31.7Burns involving 70-79% of body surface └T31.74Burns involving 70-79% of body surface with 40-49% third degree burns

└T31.74Burns involving 70-79% of body surface with 40-49% third degree burns