A15.8 vs J03.8
A15.8 (Other respiratory tuberculosis) compared with J03.8 (Acute tonsillitis due to other specified organisms), from the official CMS tabular data. Do not report these codes together: the official tabular list marks them Excludes1.
Can these codes be reported together?
No — do not report together. J03.8 carries an Excludes1 note covering A15.8: “tuberculous tonsillitis (A15.8)”
Sole exception: when the two conditions are documented as unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).
Side by side
| A15.8Other respiratory tuberculosis | J03.8Acute tonsillitis due to other specified organisms | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing status | Billable | Non-billable header |
| Classification | A00-B99 — Certain Infectious and Parasitic Diseases (A00-B99) | J00-J99 — Diseases of the Respiratory System (J00-J99) |
| Definition | Other respiratory tuberculosis is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (A15.8). | Acute tonsillitis due to other specified organisms is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (J03.8). |
| Includes | infections due to Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium bovis Mediastinal tuberculosis Nasopharyngeal tuberculosis Tuberculosis of nose | — |
| Use additional code | code, if applicable, for associated cachexia (E88.A) | code (B95-B97) to identify infectious agent. |
Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources