J22 — Unspecified acute lower respiratory infection
Is J22 billable?
Yes, but J22 is an unspecified code. J22 is a valid, billable ICD-10-CM code for encounters from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027. However, J22 is an unspecified or catch-all code. Payers apply additional scrutiny to unspecified codes and many deny them when the medical record supports a more specific option, so check the documentation before selecting J22.
J22 at a glance
| Code | J22 |
|---|---|
| Description | Unspecified acute lower respiratory infection |
| Billable | Yes |
| Code set | ICD-10-CM FY2027 |
| Valid for encounters | October 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027 |
Which MS-DRGs does J22 group to?
J22 sits in MDC 04 and helps define the logic of 2 MS-DRGs (version 44, FY2027). Which one a stay actually groups to also depends on procedures and secondary diagnoses.
- 205Other Respiratory System Diagnoses with MCCmedical
- 206Other Respiratory System Diagnoses without MCCmedical
How is J22 listed in the Alphabetic Index?
These are the routes through the Alphabetic Index that lead to J22. They show the wording a clinician may have documented, which often differs from the Tabular description.
- Infection, infected, infective › chest (opportunistic)
- Infection, infected, infective › respiratoryNEC › acute (opportunistic)
- Infection, infected, infective › respiratoryNEC › lower (opportunistic)
Excludes1 — never code together
The conditions below can never be reported together with J22 on the same claim. An Excludes1 note means the two conditions cannot occur in the same patient, so reporting both is a coding error.
- upper respiratory infection (acute) (J06.9)
Inclusion terms
Alternative wording in documentation that is classified to J22.
- Acute (lower) respiratory (tract) infection NOS
Use additional code — inherited from Chapter 10
Report an additional code alongside J22 to fully describe the condition. J22 is sequenced first.
Excludes2 — not included here — inherited from Chapter 10
The conditions below are not part of J22, but a patient may have both at the same time. When documentation supports it, J22 and the excluded code may both be reported.
- certain conditions originating in the perinatal period (P04-P96)
- certain infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99)
- complications of pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (O00-O9A)
- congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99)
- endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E88)
- injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00-T88)
- neoplasms (C00-D49)
- smoke inhalation (T59.81-)
- symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R94)
Excludes2 — not included here — inherited from J20-J22
The conditions below are not part of J22, but a patient may have both at the same time. When documentation supports it, J22 and the excluded code may both be reported.
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with acute lower respiratory infection (J44.0)
How long has J22 existed?
J22 has been in ICD-10-CM since at least FY2016, the earliest fiscal year on record here.
Derived from the official order files for FY2016–FY2026. FY2017 and FY2020 publish no order file, so those years are not covered.
Which codes are confused with J22?
ICD-10-CM declares these codes mutually exclusive with J22 — exactly one of each pair can be correct for a given encounter.