J44.9: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, unspecified
Billable ICD-10-CM code, FY2027
What ICD-10-CM says
Includes
- Chronic obstructive airway disease NOS
- Chronic obstructive lung disease NOS
Excludes2 (not part of J44.9; both may be coded)
- lung diseases due to external agents (J60-J70)
Notes at J44, Other chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (they apply to every code under it)
Includes
- asthma with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- chronic asthmatic (obstructive) bronchitis
- chronic bronchitis with airway obstruction
- chronic bronchitis with emphysema
- chronic emphysematous bronchitis
- chronic obstructive asthma
- chronic obstructive bronchitis
- chronic obstructive tracheobronchitis
Excludes2 (not part of J44.9; both may be coded)
- bronchiectasis (J47.-)
- chronic bronchitis NOS (J42)
- chronic simple and mucopurulent bronchitis (J41.-)
- chronic tracheitis (J42)
- chronic tracheobronchitis (J42)
- emphysema without chronic bronchitis (J43.-)
Code also
- type of asthma, if applicable (J45.-)
What J44.9 covers
J44.9 is for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with no exacerbation, lower respiratory infection or other specified detail documented. It includes chronic obstructive airway disease NOS and chronic obstructive lung disease NOS.
Primary care and pulmonology use it constantly. COPD with an acute exacerbation is J44.1, with an acute lower respiratory infection J44.0, and other specified COPD J44.8-. Emphysema without chronic bronchitis is coded in J43.-.
Billing and coding notes
The J44 category says to code also the type of asthma (J45.-) when asthma is present with COPD. The category includes chronic obstructive asthma and chronic bronchitis with airway obstruction.
During a flare, J44.1 replaces J44.9. The J44 excludes2 list includes bronchiectasis (J47.-), chronic bronchitis NOS (J42) and emphysema without chronic bronchitis (J43.-). J44.9 also has an excludes2 for lung diseases due to external agents (J60-J70).
Related codes under J44
Questions about J44.9
What is the difference between J44.9 and J44.1?
J44.9 is COPD without a documented exacerbation or infection. J44.1 is COPD with an acute exacerbation, a worsening of the patient's usual symptoms.
Can J44.9 and an asthma code be coded together?
Yes. The J44 category says to code also the type of asthma (J45.-) when the patient has both.
ICD-10-CM in CloudMedico
In CloudMedico, a visit's diagnoses come from the current ICD-10-CM list. For US practices, the visit flags a code that isn't billable on its date, and a superbill made from an invoice carries the visit's diagnoses.
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