What is the ICD-10 code for COPD exacerbation?

J44.1, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with (acute) exacerbation. If the exacerbation is caused by a lower respiratory infection, add J44.0 and a code for the infection.

What is the ICD-10 code for COPD with pneumonia?

J44.0, COPD with (acute) lower respiratory infection, plus the pneumonia code (J18.9 if the organism is not documented). J44.0 always needs the additional infection code.

How do I code COPD with emphysema?

Per AHA Coding Clinic Q4 2017, report the emphysema code (J43.9 if unspecified) alone. Emphysema is a form of COPD and J44.9 is not added.

COPD ICD-10 code

Q: What is the ICD-10 code for COPD?

The ICD-10-CM code for COPD is J44.9: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, unspecified. It is billable and valid for submission on a claim. There are 14 related codes; which one applies depends on what the documentation supports.

The ICD-10-CM code for COPD is J44.9 (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, unspecified). It is billable and valid for submission on a claim. There are 14 related codes, and which one you use depends on what the documentation supports.

Also written as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema.

The mistake coders make here

J44.1 is COPD with acute exacerbation and J44.0 is COPD with acute lower respiratory infection. They are not interchangeable, and a documented exacerbation with an infection may need both.

Putting COPD on a claim? Check the claim’s diagnosis codes free: Excludes1 conflicts, header codes and missing seventh characters, before it goes out.

ICD-10-CM codes for COPD

12 of 14 are billable. Green means you can submit it as-is.

Code	Use it when
J44.9	Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, unspecified
J44.0	Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with (acute) lower respiratory infection
J44.1	Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with (acute) exacerbation
J44	Other chronic obstructive pulmonary diseasenot billable on its own
J44.8	Other specified chronic obstructive pulmonary diseasenot billable on its own
J44.89	Other specified chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
N11.1	Chronic obstructive pyelonephritis
J81.1	Chronic pulmonary edema
I27.82	Chronic pulmonary embolism
B40.1	Chronic pulmonary blastomycosis
B38.1	Chronic pulmonary coccidioidomycosis
I28.9	Disease of pulmonary vessels, unspecified
B39.1	Chronic pulmonary histoplasmosis capsulati
J84.9	Interstitial pulmonary disease, unspecified

Once you have the code

Check the whole claim: Excludes1 conflicts and missing seventh characters, free
Denial codes explained: what CO-16, CO-97 and the rest actually mean
Decision guides: walk a chart note to a code, guideline cited
Everything here that is free, and the one thing no free tool includes

J44.0, J44.1 and J44.9, and when to use two of them

J44.9 is COPD unspecified and is the code for stable disease. J44.1 is COPD with (acute) exacerbation. J44.0 is COPD with (acute) lower respiratory infection, and it carries a 'use additional code to identify the infection' instruction, so J44.0 is always accompanied by the pneumonia (J18.9 or a specific code) or bronchitis code. A patient admitted with an exacerbation triggered by pneumonia supports both J44.0 and J44.1 together; that pairing was made explicit in the FY2017 tabular revision. Acute bronchitis with COPD is J44.0 plus J20.-, not J44.1.

Asthma, emphysema and chronic bronchitis alongside COPD

Asthma documented with COPD is coded as both since FY2018: the J44.- code and a J45.- code for the type and severity of the asthma. Emphysema is different: AHA Coding Clinic (Fourth Quarter 2017) advises that 'COPD with emphysema' is reported with the J43.- emphysema code alone, because emphysema is a specific form of COPD and J43 already includes it. Chronic bronchitis with COPD is J44.- alone, since J44 includes chronic bronchitis with airway obstruction.

Respiratory failure, oxygen and tobacco

Chronic hypoxic respiratory failure in a COPD patient is J96.11 (J96.12 hypercapnic, J96.10 unspecified) and is coded with the COPD, not instead of it. On an inpatient record where the patient is admitted with acute respiratory failure due to a COPD exacerbation, either may be sequenced first depending on the circumstances of admission: Guideline I.C.10.b.3 leaves that to the documentation. Long-term oxygen dependence is Z99.81. Tobacco is nearly always relevant: F17.21- for current nicotine dependence (cigarettes), Z87.891 for a former smoker, Z72.0 for use without dependence, and Z77.22 for second-hand exposure.

Common questions

What is the ICD-10 code for COPD exacerbation?: J44.1, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with (acute) exacerbation. If the exacerbation is caused by a lower respiratory infection, add J44.0 and a code for the infection.
What is the ICD-10 code for COPD with pneumonia?: J44.0, COPD with (acute) lower respiratory infection, plus the pneumonia code (J18.9 if the organism is not documented). J44.0 always needs the additional infection code.
How do I code COPD with emphysema?: Per AHA Coding Clinic Q4 2017, report the emphysema code (J43.9 if unspecified) alone. Emphysema is a form of COPD and J44.9 is not added.