I88 vs L04

I88 (Nonspecific lymphadenitis) compared with L04 (Acute lymphadenitis), 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. I88 carries an Excludes1 note covering L04: “acute lymphadenitis, except mesenteric (L04.-)”

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

	I88Nonspecific lymphadenitis	L04Acute lymphadenitis
Billing status	Non-billable header Report instead: I88.0, I88.1, I88.8, I88.9	Non-billable header Report instead: L04.0, L04.1, L04.2, L04.3, L04.8
Classification	I00-I99 — Diseases of the Circulatory System (I00-I99)	L00-L99 — Diseases of the Skin and Subcutaneous Tissue (L00-L99)
Definition	Nonspecific lymphadenitis is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (I88).	Acute lymphadenitis is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (L04).
Includes	—	abscess (acute) of lymph nodes, except mesenteric acute lymphadenitis, except mesenteric
Use additional code	—	code (B95-B97) to identify infectious agent.

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Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2026). Not billing advice; verify sequencing rules for the encounter. All data sources