Skip to main content

A15-A19 vs R76.11

A15-A19 (Tuberculosis (A15-A19)) compared with R76.11 (Nonspecific reaction to tuberculin skin test without active tuberculosis), from the official CMS tabular data.

Summary

These codes should not be reported together because A15-A19’s tabular entry lists R76.11 under Excludes1.

Official rule
What is different?

The conditions named, billing status and chapter.A15-A19 is “Tuberculosis (A15-A19)”; R76.11 is “Nonspecific reaction to tuberculin skin test without active tuberculosis”. A15-A19 is a non-billable header; R76.11 is billable. A15-A19 sits in A00-B99 — Certain Infectious and Parasitic Diseases (A00-B99); R76.11 in R00-R99 — Symptoms, Signs and Abnormal Clinical and Laboratory Findings, Not Elsewhere Classified (R00-R99).

Registry fact

Can these codes be reported together?

No.A15-A19’s entry carries an Excludes1 note covering R76.11: “positive PPD (R76.11)”. Both may be reported only when the documentation shows the two conditions are unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).

Official ruleGuide: Excludes1 vs Excludes2

Is there an Excludes1 relationship?

Yes.A15-A19’s tabular entry: “positive PPD (R76.11)”. The note covers R76.11.

Official ruleGuide: Excludes1 vs Excludes2

Is there an Excludes2 relationship?

None.Neither entry carries an Excludes2 note that names the other code. R76.11 carries 7 Excludes2 notes covering other codes; the side-by-side table quotes them.

Official rule

Is one more specific?

Not comparable.The codes sit in different categories; specificity is only comparable within one category.

Is one a parent or header code?

One is a header.A15-A19 is a non-billable header, but R76.11 is not one of its subdivisions.

Registry fact

Are there sequencing instructions?

None.Neither entry carries a Code First or Use Additional Code note that names the other.

Official rule

Are there other coding relationships?

None found.No laterality, encounter-phase, Table of Neoplasms, Table of Drugs and Chemicals, or history-versus-active-disease relationship links these codes.

MedCoder-derived

Official rule: a tabular instructional note or a section of the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, quoted as published. Registry fact: the codes’ own published attributes (titles, billable status, position in the hierarchy, code set). MedCoder-derived: a reading MedCoder computes from those facts; it is not itself a rule. How to read the labels

Can these codes be reported together?

Conflict

Excludes1 conflict

A15-A19
Tuberculosis (A15-A19)
↔
R76.11
Nonspecific reaction to tuberculin skin test without active tuberculosis

What we found

No — do not report together.A15-A19 carries an Excludes1 note covering R76.11: “positive PPD (R76.11)”

Sole exception: when the two conditions are documented as unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).

What to review

Report one of the two. Both may be reported only when the documentation shows the two conditions are unrelated to each other.

Guide: Excludes1 vs Excludes2Check these on a claim

Why it matters

An Excludes1 note means the two conditions cannot occur together, so the pair should not be reported for the same encounter. The sole exception is when the conditions are documented as unrelated to each other.

Source / rule

CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes; ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a

Official guidance behind these answers

  • Section I.A.12.a — Excludes1 · applies to: Excludes1

    A type 1 Excludes note is a pure excludes note. It means “NOT CODED HERE!” An Excludes1 note indicates that the code excluded should never be used at the same time as the code above the Excludes1 note. An Excludes1 is used when two conditions cannot occur together, such as a congenital form versus an acquired form of the same condition. An exception to the Excludes1 definition is the circumstance when the two conditions are unrelated to each other. If it is not clear whether the two conditions involving an Excludes1 note are related or not, query the provider. For example, code F45.8, Other somatoform disorders, has an Excludes1 note for "sleep related teeth grinding (G47.63)," because "teeth grinding" is an inclusion term under F45.8. Only one of these two codes should be assigned for teeth grinding. However psychogenic dysmenorrhea is also an inclusion term under F45.8, and a patient could have both this condition and sleep related teeth grinding. In this case, the two conditions are clearly unrelated to each other, and so it would be appropriate to report F45.8 and G47.63 together.

    ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines FY2026

Quoted from the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting in effect for the release shown. The tabular notes above are the code-level instruction; these sections are the convention that says how such a note is applied. Source document (CMS PDF) · Release and checksum

Side by side

A15-A19Tuberculosis (A15-A19)R76.11Nonspecific reaction to tuberculin skin test without active tuberculosis
Billing statusNon-billable headerBillable
ClassificationA00-B99 — Certain Infectious and Parasitic Diseases (A00-B99)R00-R99 — Symptoms, Signs and Abnormal Clinical and Laboratory Findings, Not Elsewhere Classified (R00-R99)
DefinitionTuberculosis (A15-A19) is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (A15-A19).Nonspecific reaction to tuberculin skin test without active tuberculosis is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (R76.11).
Includes
infections due to Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium bovis
Abnormal result of Mantoux test
PPD positive
Tuberculin (skin test) positive
Tuberculin (skin test) reactor
Excludes1
congenital tuberculosis (P37.0)
nonspecific reaction to test for tuberculosis without active tuberculosis (R76.1-)
pneumoconiosis associated with tuberculosis, any type in A15 (J65)
positive PPD (R76.11)
positive tuberculin skin test without active tuberculosis (R76.11)
sequelae of tuberculosis (B90.-)
silicotuberculosis (J65)
nonspecific reaction to cell mediated immunity measurement of gamma interferon antigen response without active tuberculosis (R76.12)
Excludes2—
abnormal findings on antenatal screening of mother (O28.-)
abnormalities of lipids (E78.-)
abnormalities of platelets and thrombocytes (D69.-)
abnormalities of white blood cells classified elsewhere (D70-D72)
coagulation hemorrhagic disorders (D65-D68)
diagnostic abnormal findings classified elsewhere - see Alphabetical Index
hemorrhagic and hematological disorders of newborn (P50-P61)
Use additional code
code, if applicable, for associated cachexia (E88.A)
—

Notes are the code’s own tabular entry, quoted as published. A note that names the other code is the one the verdict above rests on.

Edit this comparisonCheck a whole claim

Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2027). A coding-rule comparison, not billing advice: payer-specific edits and medical-necessity policy are outside its scope. All data sources