J22 vs J39
J22 and J39 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 J39
acute respiratory infection NOS (J22)
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)
J39
Other diseases of upper respiratory tract
Not billable
- Chapter 10
- Diseases of the respiratory system
- Section
- J30-J39
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