A49Bacterial infection of unspecified site

A49 is the ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for bacterial infection of unspecified site. It belongs to block A30-A49 (other bacterial diseases) and chapter 1 (certain infectious and parasitic diseases). It is a header code, so it can't be reported by itself; one of its 6 subcodes must be used instead.

To report this condition, pick the subcode that matches the documentation: A49.0 (site), A49.1 (site), A49.2 (site), A49.3 (site), A49.8 (site) and A49.9 (unspecified).

Don't report A49 together with the conditions in its Excludes1 note: bacterial agents as the cause of diseases classified elsewhere (B95-B96), meningococcal infection NOS (A39.9), rickettsial infection NOS (A79.9) and spirochetal infection NOS (A69.9).

The conditions in its Excludes2 note aren't part of A49, but may be coded alongside it if the patient has both: chlamydial infection NOS (A74.9).

It has been part of ICD-10-CM since the code set took effect on October 1, 2015 and hasn't changed since.