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Understanding F43.11: Coding Acute Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

PTSD with symptoms present for less than three months. An ICD-10-CM specificity code; the DSM-5-TR itself lists PTSD as F43.10.

Quick reference

When to use
Use F43.11 when the client's presentation is directly linked to an identifiable stressor or traumatic event and meets the specific criteria for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, Acute. Document the qualifying event or stressor clearly.
Duration
PTSD: symptoms >1 month post-trauma. Acute Stress: 3 days to 1 month. Adjustment Disorders: onset within 3 months of stressor, resolves within 6 months after stressor ends. Reassess timeline regularly.
Session codes
Pair with CPT 90837 (60-min, preferred for trauma processing), 90834 (45-min for stabilization), or 90791 (initial evaluation). Add 96127 for PCL-5 or PHQ-9 screening. EMDR/exposure sessions often require 90837.
Key indicators
Intrusive memories or flashbacks • Avoidance of trauma reminders • Negative mood or cognition changes • Hyperarousal or hypervigilance • Sleep disturbance • Dissociative symptoms • Clear temporal link to stressor

What F43.11 represents

F43.11 is the ICD-10-CM code for post-traumatic stress disorder, acute: full PTSD criteria are met and symptoms have lasted less than three months.

The acute and chronic split comes from ICD-10-CM, not the DSM. DSM-IV used "acute" and "chronic" as specifiers; DSM-5 dropped them and lists PTSD under a single code, F43.10. ICD-10-CM kept F43.11 and F43.12, so a clinician who knows the duration can code it more specifically.

Key diagnostic criteria

The same DSM-5-TR criteria as F43.10: a Criterion A exposure, at least one intrusion symptom, at least one avoidance symptom, two or more negative changes in thinking and mood, and two or more arousal and reactivity symptoms, lasting more than one month and causing significant distress or impairment.

What makes it acute: symptoms present for less than three months.

If it has been less than one month since the event, PTSD cannot yet be diagnosed; consider Acute Stress Disorder (F43.0).

Documentation essentials

Record the date of the qualifying event and the date symptoms began, so the duration supports "acute". Note which symptom clusters are met. A PCL-5 at intake gives a baseline you can repeat to show change.

Differential diagnosis

  • Acute Stress Disorder (F43.0): from 3 days to 1 month after the event
  • F43.12, PTSD chronic: symptoms for 3 months or more
  • Adjustment disorder (F43.2x): the stressor does not meet Criterion A, or full PTSD criteria are not met

Treatment planning

Trauma-focused psychotherapy is first line: prolonged exposure, cognitive processing therapy and EMDR. Early in the course, also monitor sleep and substance use, which often worsen in the first months.

Insurance & billing

Some payers accept only F43.10 because it is the DSM-5-TR code; others prefer the more specific ICD-10-CM code. Check the payer. Once symptoms pass three months, update the diagnosis to F43.12 rather than leaving F43.11 on later claims.

Updates & changes

DSM-5 (2013) removed the acute and chronic specifiers and added "with delayed expression" for when full criteria are not met until at least six months after the event. ICD-10-CM retains the acute and chronic codes.

Documentation pitfalls

Leaving F43.11 in place after three months. Coding acute PTSD less than a month after the event, when Acute Stress Disorder is the correct diagnosis.

References

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed., text rev.).
  • Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. ICD-10-CM Tabular List of Diseases and Injuries, F43.1.
  • National Center for PTSD. PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5).