L04 — Acute lymphadenitis
Is L04 billable?
No — L04 is a non-billable header code. L04 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 6 billable codes beneath L04.
L04 at a glance
| Code | L04 |
|---|---|
| Description | Acute lymphadenitis |
| 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 L04 on the same claim. An Excludes1 note means the two conditions cannot occur in the same patient, so reporting both is a coding error.
Includes
Conditions classified to L04.
- abscess (acute) of lymph nodes, except mesenteric
- acute lymphadenitis, except mesenteric
Use additional code — inherited from L00-L08
Report an additional code alongside L04 to fully describe the condition. L04 is sequenced first.
- code (B95-B97) to identify infectious agent.
Excludes2 — not included here — inherited from Chapter 12
The conditions below are not part of L04, but a patient may have both at the same time. When documentation supports it, L04 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)
- lipomelanotic reticulosis (I89.8)
- neoplasms (C00-D49)
- symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R94)
- systemic connective tissue disorders (M30-M36)
- viral warts (B07.-)
Excludes2 — not included here — inherited from L00-L08
The conditions below are not part of L04, but a patient may have both at the same time. When documentation supports it, L04 and the excluded code may both be reported.
- hordeolum (H00.0)
- infective dermatitis (L30.3)
- local infections of skin classified in Chapter 1
- lupus panniculitis (L93.2)
- panniculitis NOS (M79.3)
- panniculitis of neck and back (M54.0-)
- Perlèche NOS (K13.0)
- Perlèche due to candidiasis (B37.0)
- Perlèche due to riboflavin deficiency (E53.0)
- pyogenic granuloma (L98.0)
- relapsing panniculitis [Weber-Christian] (M35.6)
- viral warts (B07.-)
- zoster (B02.-)
What codes fall under L04? (6)
How long has L04 existed?
L04 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 L04?
ICD-10-CM declares these codes mutually exclusive with L04 — exactly one of each pair can be correct for a given encounter.