J03.9
Non-billableAcute tonsillitis, unspecified
Acute tonsillitis, unspecified
This is a header/category code. For billing purposes, use a more specific child code from the list below.
Coding Notes
Inclusion Terms
Alternative clinical terms for this condition
- Follicular tonsillitis (acute)
- Gangrenous tonsillitis (acute)
- Infective tonsillitis (acute)
- Tonsillitis (acute) NOS
- Ulcerative tonsillitis (acute)
Excludes 1
Codes that cannot be used together with this code (mutual exclusion)
Excludes 2
Conditions not included here, but the patient may have both
- 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)
- chronic tonsillitis (J35.0)
Use Additional Code
Additional codes that should follow this code
Child Codes (2)
Also Known As / Clinical Terms
UMLS
- Acute TonsillitisC0001361
- Acute tonsillitisC0001361
- Acute tonsillitis (disorder)C0001361
- Acute tonsillitis, unspecifiedC0001361
- Infective tonsillitisC0001361
- Tonsillitis (acute) NOSC0001361
- Tonsillitis acute NOSC0001361
- acute tonsillitisC0001361
- infective tonsillitisC0001361
- Acute follicular tonsillitisC0396018
- Acute follicular tonsillitis (disorder)C0396018
- Follicular tonsillitis (acute)C0396018
- Acute gangrenous tonsillitisC0339866
- Acute gangrenous tonsillitis (disorder)C0339866
- Gangrenous tonsillitis (acute)C0339866
- Acute ulcerative tonsillitisC0396019
- Acute ulcerative tonsillitis (disorder)C0396019
- Ulcerative tonsillitis (acute)C0396019
- Infective tonsillitis (acute)C2004537
Frequently Asked Questions
What is ICD-10 code J03.9?
ICD-10-CM code J03.9 represents "Acute tonsillitis, unspecified". It is a non-billable header code — use a more specific child code for billing purposes.
Is J03.9 a billable code?
No, J03.9 is a non-billable header code. You need to use one of its more specific child codes for billing. There are 2 child codes under J03.9.
What chapter is J03.9 in?
J03.9 is in Chapter 10: Diseases of the Respiratory System (codes J00-J99).
What codes cannot be used with J03.9?
J03.9 has Excludes1 notes indicating codes that cannot be used together with it, including: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with acute lower respiratory infection (J44.0); acute sore throat (J02.-); hypertrophy of tonsils (J35.1); and 4 more.
What are the subcategories under J03.9?
J03.9 has 2 child codes, including: J03.90 (Acute tonsillitis, unspecified), J03.91 (Acute recurrent tonsillitis, unspecified).
Are additional codes required with J03.9?
Yes, when using J03.9 you should also code: code, where applicable, to identify:; exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (Z77.22); exposure to tobacco smoke in the perinatal period (P96.81); history of tobacco dependence (Z87.891); occupational exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (Z57.31); tobacco dependence (F17.-); tobacco use (Z72.0).
What are the UMLS CUIs for J03.9?
J03.9 is linked to 5 UMLS Concept Unique Identifiers: C0001361, C0396018, C0339866, C0396019, C2004537. The UMLS (Unified Medical Language System) integrates multiple biomedical vocabularies maintained by the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
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Includes SNOMED Clinical Terms® (SNOMED CT®) used by permission of SNOMED International. Includes content from the UMLS Metathesaurus, courtesy of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.