Q: The patient expired immediately from blast injuries which have, in addition to multiple other injuries, transected the spinal cord at the level of C5. How should the spinal cord injury be coded?

A: The correct code is 640261.5. Although we do not have specific information about paralysis, by definition “transection” means complete transection, and complete transection of the spinal cord results in paralysis, so the injury is coded as a complete cord syndrome.