ICD-10 Code A04.4: Other intestinal Escherichia coli infections
What is this code?
ICD-10 codes are diagnosis classification codes used in healthcare records, reporting, coding workflows, and billing support. This code sits within the broader ICD-10 area for Certain infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99).
đź“‹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 intestinal escherichia coli infections in a patient's medical record.
- May appear in hospital records, claims, referrals, and clinical documentation.
- This code can be used as a clinically usable diagnosis entry in standardized coding workflows.
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.
🩺Clinical context
- 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.
- 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
- 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.
- Other intestinal E. coli infections is a residual branch used when the chart supports intestinal E. coli infection but does not fit the enteropathogenic, enterotoxigenic, enteroinvasive, or enterohemorrhagic subtype labels.
- 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.
Code hierarchy
Official coding notes
- Escherichia coli enteritis NOS
Where you may see this code
You may see this code in hospital records, discharge summaries, insurance claims, encounter documentation, referrals, or other healthcare billing and coding records.
Related specialists
Related codes
Sibling codes
Coverage-related procedures and services
Mapped diagnoses and classifications
Coding guidelines
Compatibility
Common synonyms
Frequently asked questions
About this content
This page is prepared by HealthAssure's clinical team using official coding standards from ICD-10. AI tools assist with drafting explanations, which are then reviewed and verified by healthcare professionals for accuracy. This content is for informational purposes and does not replace professional medical advice. Meet our team.