I88 vs R59

I88 (Nonspecific lymphadenitis) compared with R59 (Enlarged lymph nodes), 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 R59: “enlarged lymph nodes NOS (R59.-)”

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	R59Enlarged lymph nodes
Billing status	Non-billable header Report instead: I88.0, I88.1, I88.8, I88.9	Non-billable header Report instead: R59.0, R59.1, R59.9
Classification	I00-I99 — Diseases of the Circulatory System (I00-I99)	R00-R99 — Symptoms, Signs and Abnormal Clinical and Laboratory Findings, Not Elsewhere Classified (R00-R99)
Definition	Nonspecific lymphadenitis is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (I88).	Enlarged lymph nodes is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (R59).
Includes	—	swollen glands

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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