J06 vs J22
J06 and J22 can never be reported together. ICD-10-CM declares them mutually exclusive with an Excludes1 note, meaning the two conditions cannot occur in the same patient — so exactly one of them is correct for any given encounter.
The official note, declared on J06
acute respiratory infection NOS (J22)
J06
Acute upper respiratory infections of multiple and unspecified sites
Not billable
- Chapter 10
- Diseases of the respiratory system
- Section
- J00-J06
J22
Unspecified acute lower respiratory infection
BillableUnspecified
- Chapter 10
- Diseases of the respiratory system
- Section
- J20-J22
Use when the record says
- Acute (lower) respiratory (tract) infection NOS
Indexed under
- Infection, infected, infective › chest (opportunistic)
- Infection, infected, infective › respiratoryNEC › acute (opportunistic)
- Infection, infected, infective › respiratoryNEC › lower (opportunistic)
Excludes1 is not always absolute: where two conditions covered by the note are genuinely unrelated, CMS guidance permits reporting both. Document the reasoning rather than assuming it. More on Excludes1 vs Excludes2 · FY2027