Sepsis and the causal organism

[terribrown]

Coding Clinic has posted various articles addressing using x-rays and other diagnostics for specificity of location with a provider's generic diagnosis (e.g., provider states cerebral infarct; coders can use imaging reports for location specificity. 3Q 2014). But, in an inpatient setting, if the provider diagnosed sepsis, and blood cultures confirmed an organism (that is a sub-term under sepsis in the Alphabetic Index), without a direct cause and effect relationship stated by the provider, can the culture result be used for specificity for the documented sepsis? I'm concerned with taking the leap of applying one direction by Coding Clinic to another scenario.