T48.6X1 Poisoning by antiasthmatics, accidental (unintentional)

ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code T48.6X1: Poisoning by antiasthmatics, accidental (unintentional)

ICD-10-CM code T48.6X1 represents accidental and unintentional poisoning by antiasthmatics, classified under the broader parent category of poisoning, adverse effects, and underdosing of antiasthmatics. The concept is semantically typed as an injury or poisoning event, and official coding guidelines direct that injury or poisoning events of unknown intent be coded as unintentional. 1 2

Plain-language overview

Code T48.6X1 identifies an accidental or unintentional poisoning event involving antiasthmatic medications, and the terminology record maintains an active status for this specific diagnosis concept. 1

What this code represents

The semantic type assigned to T48.6X1 is Injury or Poisoning, and the code has no narrower child concepts within the ICD-10-CM terminology hierarchy, establishing it as a specific endpoint in the classification structure. 1

T48.6X1 is a direct child of the parent concept T48.6X, which encompasses poisoning by, adverse effect of, and underdosing of antiasthmatics, situating the accidental poisoning code within a broader medication event category. 1 4

Coding details

Official ICD-10-CM guidelines state that if the intent of a poisoning cause is unknown or unspecified, the intent is coded as unintentional, and external cause codes for undetermined intent are used only if documentation specifies the intent cannot be determined. 2

The intent of a drug poisoning, such as unintentional or intentional self-harm, is generally captured in the sixth character of the ICD-10-CM code, distinguishing the circumstances of the injury event. 2

Documentation considerations

Health systems or facilities may have policies requiring external cause coding, and some electronic health record systems prompt or require entry of an external cause code when an injury or poisoning diagnosis is assigned. 2

Specific encounter details are documented using extensions of the base code, such as T48.6X1A for the initial encounter and T48.6X1S for a sequela, providing further clinical context to the accidental antiasthmatic poisoning event. 5 6

What the sources add

While the National Cancer Institute terminology record defines the active code hierarchy and semantic type, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report adds operational context by explaining how the sixth character captures poisoning intent across ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes. 1 2

A Medicare billing article for oximetry services lists T48.6X1A as an initial encounter code alongside T48.6X2A for intentional self-harm, illustrating how distinct accidental and intentional antiasthmatic poisoning codes are differentiated in payer documentation contexts. 5

Sources

1. ICD-10-CM T48.6X1 terminology record — National Cancer Institute Enterprise Vocabulary Services; accessed 2026-07-27.
2. National Health Statistics Reports — cdc.gov; accessed 2026-07-27.
3. cms32desclongdx-txt.txt — cms.gov; accessed 2026-07-27.
4. EVS Explore — evsexplore.semantics.cancer.gov; accessed 2026-07-27.
5. Article - Billing and Coding: Oximetry Services (A57205) — cms.gov; accessed 2026-07-27.
6. Browse Code Systems — vsac.nlm.nih.gov; accessed 2026-07-27.