J80 vs T71
J80 and T71 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 T71
acute respiratory distress (syndrome) (J80)
J80
Acute respiratory distress syndrome
Billable
- Chapter 10
- Diseases of the respiratory system
- Section
- J80-J84
Use when the record says
- Acute respiratory distress syndrome in adult or child
- Adult hyaline membrane disease
Indexed under
- Shock › lung
- Syndrome › acute respiratory distress
- Syndrome › shock-lung
- Distress › acute respiratory › syndrome
- Disease, diseased › hyaline › membrane › adult
T71
Asphyxiation
Not billable
- Chapter 19
- Injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes
- Section
- T66-T78
Use when the record says
- Mechanical suffocation
- Traumatic suffocation
These two codes sit in different chapters of the Tabular List, which is usually the clearest signal that they describe different underlying processes rather than different degrees of the same one.
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