What does ICD-10 code A04 mean?

ICD-10 code A04 is the standardized code used for other bacterial intestinal infections in medical records and coding systems.

When is ICD-10 code A04 used?

Doctors, hospitals, and insurers may use ICD-10 code A04 when recording other bacterial intestinal infections in a standardized format. This entry may also act as a broader category that points toward more specific child codes.

Does ICD-10 code A04 confirm a diagnosis?

No. A code helps standardize documentation and claims, but it should not be read as a substitute for a clinician's full assessment.

ICD10

ICD-10 Code A04: Other bacterial intestinal infections

Name: ICD-10 Code A04: Other bacterial intestinal infections
Creator: HealthAssure Clinical Team
Published: 2026-05-21T05:57:50.885Z

A04 is an ICD-10 diagnosis entry used to group records related to Other bacterial intestinal infections. You may see this entry in coding references, medical records, or claims workflows when a broader diagnosis category is being reviewed before a more specific code is chosen. ICD-10 entries help standardize how diagnoses are organized for coding, reporting, analytics, and documentation. This code sits within the broader ICD-10 area for Certain infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99).

Reviewed by HealthAssure Clinical TeamUpdated 21 May 2026

What is this code?

ICD-10 entries help standardize how diagnoses are organized for coding, reporting, analytics, and documentation. This code sits within the broader ICD-10 area for Certain infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99).

📋Clinical overview

This ICD-10 code is commonly used when documentation describes a bacterial intestinal infection. The most accurate code depends on whether the chart identifies a specific E. coli subtype, Campylobacter, Yersinia enterocolitica, Clostridium difficile, another specified bacterial intestinal pathogen, or a fully unspecified bacterial intestinal infection, and for C. diff whether recurrence is documented.

When is it used?

May be used when a clinician documents other bacterial intestinal infections in a patient's medical record.
May appear in hospital records, claims, referrals, and clinical documentation.
This code may act more like a grouping or parent code, so a more specific child code may be used in final documentation when available.

What it does not mean

A code alone does not explain severity, treatment plan, or outcome.
A medical code should not be treated as a substitute for a doctor's diagnosis or advice.
This entry may represent a broader category rather than the most specific billable code.

🩺Clinical context

When commonly used

Primary-care, urgent-care, emergency, gastroenterology, infectious-disease, inpatient, and follow-up documentation where acute infectious diarrhea, enteritis, or enterocolitis is part of the active assessment.
Coding and utilization-review workflows where stool-testing results, pathogen identification, or documented C. diff recurrence status change the final intestinal-infection code.

Common management context

Evaluation often includes symptom review for diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, dehydration, or bloody stool; stool culture or molecular-test review; fluid-status assessment; and antimicrobial or infection-control planning when indicated.
Documentation usually becomes more specific when the chart identifies the causative organism, distinguishes one E. coli subtype from another, or clarifies whether C. diff infection is recurrent.
Specialist context already linked on this page includes Infectious Disease Specialist, General Physician, Gastroenterologist.

🔍Key distinctions

Important notes

This ICD-10 family captures bacterial intestinal infections and is distinct from viral, parasitic, or noninfectious gastrointestinal conditions because pathogen identification is the main specificity driver.
Subtype detail matters across this branch, especially for diarrheagenic E. coli patterns and for recurrent-versus-not-specified-as-recurrent C. diff infection.
This parent page groups organism-specific bacterial intestinal infections, so the final billable code usually depends on whether the chart identifies an E. coli subtype, Campylobacter, Yersinia enterocolitica, Clostridium difficile, another specified bacterial pathogen, or a fully unspecified bacterial intestinal infection.
Documentation that describes bacterial intestinal infection is coded differently from viral gastroenteritis, parasitic intestinal infection, noninfectious colitis, or diarrhea without documented bacterial cause because organism detail drives final code selection.

Important exclusions

bacterial foodborne intoxications, NEC (A05.-)
tuberculous enteritis (A18.32)

Related codes to consider

A04.0Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli infection

Related bacterial-intestinal-infection ICD-10 code; documentation often becomes more specific when the chart identifies the organism, names a diarrheagenic E. coli subtype, or clarifies C. diff recurrence status.

A04.1Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli infection

A04.2Enteroinvasive Escherichia coli infection

A04.3Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli infection

Code hierarchy

chapter

1Certain infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99)

block

A00-A09Intestinal infectious diseases

currentA00-A09

Official coding notes

Excludes1 (do not code together)

bacterial foodborne intoxications, NEC (A05.-)
tuberculous enteritis (A18.32)

Where you may see this code

You may see this entry in coding references, medical records, or claims workflows when a broader diagnosis category is being reviewed before a more specific code is chosen.

Related specialists

Infectious Disease SpecialistGeneral PhysicianGastroenterologist

Sibling codes

A00Cholera A01Typhoid and paratyphoid fevers A02Other salmonella infections A03Shigellosis A05Other bacterial foodborne intoxications, not elsewhere classified A06Amebiasis A07Other protozoal intestinal diseases A08Viral and other specified intestinal infections A09Infectious gastroenteritis and colitis, unspecifiedbillable

Coding guidelines

Compatibility

Legacy code aligns to an official FY 2026 category. Frontend should resolve to the official category page and surface the billable child codes.

Legacy codes

A04

Replacement codes

A04.0 — Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli infectionA04.1 — Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli infectionA04.2 — Enteroinvasive Escherichia coli infectionA04.3 — Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli infectionA04.4 — Other intestinal Escherichia coli infectionsA04.5 — Campylobacter enteritisA04.6 — Enteritis due to Yersinia enterocoliticaA04.8 — Other specified bacterial intestinal infectionsA04.9 — Bacterial intestinal infection, unspecified

Common synonyms

Other bacterial intestinal infections

Frequently asked questions

📚References

MedlinePlus: Bacterial Infections

MedlinePlus

MedlinePlus: C. diff Infections