MRSA ICD-10 codes

In ICD-10-CM, B95.62 identifies MRSA as the cause of a condition coded elsewhere and is always a secondary code. A49.02 is for a MRSA infection with no documented site or condition. Z22.322 is for carrier status — colonisation, not infection. Pneumonia and sepsis have their own combination codes (J15.212 and A41.02) that already include the organism.

This page is written for coders, clinical documentation specialists and billing staff. If you are looking for the condition itself, start with MRSA symptoms or MRSA treatment.

Codes shown are ICD-10-CM, the United States clinical modification. Always verify against the current official code set and guidelines for the encounter's date of service.

• B95.62 never goes first. It is an "as the cause of diseases classified elsewhere" code, so the condition — the abscess, cellulitis, osteomyelitis, wound infection or bacteraemia — is sequenced first.
• Do not pair A49.02 with B95.62. A49.02 is for a MRSA infection with no documented site. Once a site or condition is documented, that condition plus B95.62 replaces it.
• Combination codes stand alone. J15.212 (MRSA pneumonia) and A41.02 (MRSA sepsis) already name the organism, so adding B95.62 duplicates it.

The distinction decides between an infection code and Z22.322. A positive nasal or skin swab in a patient with no clinical signs is colonisation, coded as carrier status. Documented signs of infection — purulence, spreading erythema, fever, a positive culture from a clinical specimen — move the encounter to an infection code. Where the record shows both a treated infection and separately documented ongoing carriage, follow payer and facility guidance and query the physician rather than assuming.

How the underlying swabs and cultures work is covered on MRSA testing, and the susceptibility result that separates MRSA from MSSA is explained on MSSA vs MRSA.

• MRSA cellulitis of the left lower leg — L03.116 (cellulitis of left lower limb) followed by B95.62.
• MRSA abscess of the right axilla — L02.413 (cutaneous abscess of right axilla) followed by B95.62.
• MRSA ventilator-associated pneumonia — J95.851 (ventilator-associated pneumonia) with J15.212 to identify the pneumonia due to MRSA.
• Severe sepsis due to MRSA with acute kidney injury — A41.02, then R65.20, then N17.9.
• Positive MRSA screening swab, no infection — Z22.322 alone.
• MRSA bacteraemia from an infected central line — T80.211- (bloodstream infection due to central venous catheter), R78.81 and B95.62 as documentation supports.

The clinical picture behind these examples is described on MRSA bacteraemia, MRSA pneumonia and MRSA sepsis.

• The specific condition and anatomical site, with laterality.
• Whether MRSA reflects infection or colonisation, stated explicitly.
• The organism as reported by the laboratory, and whether it is methicillin resistant or susceptible.
• For sepsis, a clear statement of sepsis or severe sepsis and each associated organ dysfunction.
• For post-procedural infection, the relationship to the procedure and the device involved.

WHO's ICD-10 carries no MRSA-specific code; the B95.6 category simply identifies Staphylococcus aureus as a cause. The resistance-specific codes above are ICD-10-CM, the version used in the United States. ICD-11, in use in a growing number of countries, handles resistance through separate extension codes rather than the fifth-character split used in ICD-10-CM.