J81 — Pulmonary edema
Is J81 billable?
No — J81 is a non-billable header code. J81 groups more specific codes and cannot be submitted on a claim. A valid ICD-10-CM code must be reported at the highest level of specificity available in its branch. Select one of the 2 billable codes beneath J81.
Billable codes under this header
J81 at a glance
| Code | J81 |
|---|---|
| Description | Pulmonary edema |
| Billable | No — header code |
| Code set | ICD-10-CM FY2027 |
| Valid for encounters | October 1, 2026 – September 30, 2027 |
Excludes1 — never code together
The conditions below can never be reported together with J81 on the same claim. An Excludes1 note means the two conditions cannot occur in the same patient, so reporting both is a coding error.
Use additional code
Report an additional code alongside J81 to fully describe the condition. J81 is sequenced first.
Use additional code — inherited from Chapter 10
Report an additional code alongside J81 to fully describe the condition. J81 is sequenced first.
Excludes2 — not included here — inherited from Chapter 10
The conditions below are not part of J81, but a patient may have both at the same time. When documentation supports it, J81 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)
What codes fall under J81? (2)
How long has J81 existed?
J81 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 J81?
ICD-10-CM declares these codes mutually exclusive with J81 — exactly one of each pair can be correct for a given encounter.