J39.0
J39.0: Retropharyngeal and parapharyngeal abscess
Billable / specific codeICD-10-CM
J39.0 is a billable, specific ICD-10-CM code for retropharyngeal and parapharyngeal abscess. It is valid for submission on a claim.
Check J39.0 with the rest of the claim: free scrubberExcludes1: never code together
These conditions cannot occur together. Billing both on the same encounter is a denial.
- peritonsillar abscess (J36)
Inclusion terms
Alternative wordings a physician may use in the chart for this same code.
- Peripharyngeal abscess
Excludes1 inherited from the categories above J39.0
A category’s note binds every code beneath it.
Other codes that can never be billed with J39.0
Their own Excludes1 notes name this code, so the conflict is not listed above.
Risk adjustment
No CMS-HCC V28 category: this code does not change a RAF score.
Medicare coverage
J39.0 is named in 3 Medicare coverage policies: 3 listing it as supporting medical necessity. Which one applies depends on your Medicare contractor.
- A56729Billing and Coding: Magnetic Resonance Imaging of the Head and Neck
- A56868Billing and Coding: Outpatient Speech Language Pathology
- A57204Billing and Coding: MRI and CT Scans of the Head and Neck
Alphabetic index entries that lead here
- Abscess›parapharyngeal
- Abscess›peripharyngeal
- Abscess›postpharyngeal
- Abscess›retropharyngeal
Code history
Unchanged in every release from FY2024 to FY2027.