M71.169 Other infective bursitis, unspecified knee

ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code M71.169: Other infective bursitis, unspecified knee

ICD-10-CM code M71.169 represents other infective bursitis of an unspecified knee, classified as a Disease or Syndrome. It is an active terminology concept that falls under the parent code M71.16 for other infective bursitis of the knee. This reference synthesizes official terminology records, clinical literature, and Medicare billing articles. 1 2 3 4

Plain-language overview

Code M71.169 identifies a disease or syndrome concept for other infective bursitis in an unspecified knee, providing a standardized diagnostic label for this specific health condition. 1

What this code represents

The diagnosis code M71.169 is an active concept in the ICD-10-CM version 2026 terminology, and its official preferred name is other infective bursitis, unspecified knee. 1

Within the ICD-10-CM hierarchy, M71.169 is a narrower concept that falls under the parent concept M71.16, which designates other infective bursitis of the knee. 1

Clinical context

Clinical literature notes that the pes anserinus bursa is located around the knee, and patients with bursitis in this anatomical region normally present with localized knee pain. 2

In a reported clinical case, a lack of infective blood and knee aspirate markers was used to exclude infection, illustrating the diagnostic process for knee bursitis. 2

Coding details

A Medicare billing article for nonvascular extremity ultrasound lists other infective bursitis of the right knee, providing an example of a related knee bursitis diagnosis code appearing in billing guidance. 3

Documentation considerations

Clinical evaluation of knee bursitis may involve ultrasonography to identify circumscribed anechoic fluid collections, as well as blood and knee aspirate tests to assess for infective markers. 2

Coverage and utilization context

Medicare billing articles establish coding guidelines that complement coverage determinations for extremity ultrasounds and pain management injections involving knee bursitis diagnoses. 3 4

What the sources add

While the terminology record defines the diagnostic code, the clinical article provides anatomical context, and the Medicare articles provide operational billing guidelines for related knee procedures. 1 2 3 4

Sources

1. ICD-10-CM M71.169 terminology record — National Cancer Institute Enterprise Vocabulary Services; accessed 2026-07-27.
2. Painful Pes Anserine Bursitis Following Total Knee Replacement Surgery — pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov; accessed 2026-07-27.
3. Article - Billing and Coding: Nonvascular Extremity Ultrasound (A56787) — cms.gov; accessed 2026-07-27.
4. Article - Billing and Coding: Pain Management - injection of tendon sheaths, ligaments, ganglion cysts, carpal and tarsal tunnels (A52863) — cms.gov; accessed 2026-07-27.