FY2027
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Excludes1 pair

J80 vs T71-

J80 and T71 are not coded together. ICD-10-CM declares them mutually exclusive with an Excludes1 note — the two conditions are not expected to occur together, so exactly one of them is normally correct for a given encounter. The Official Guidelines carve out one exception: if the two conditions are clearly unrelated to each other, both may be reported.

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 (adult) (child)
  • Syndrome › shock-lung
  • Distress › acute respiratory › syndrome (adult) (child)
  • 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