J01 vs J44.0
J01 (Acute sinusitis) compared with J44.0 (Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with (acute) lower respiratory infection), 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. J01 carries an Excludes1 note covering J44.0: “chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with acute lower respiratory infection (J44.0)”
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
| J01Acute sinusitis | J44.0Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with (acute) lower respiratory infection | |
|---|---|---|
| Billing status | Non-billable header | Billable |
| Classification | J00-J99 — Diseases of the Respiratory System (J00-J99) | J00-J99 — Diseases of the Respiratory System (J00-J99) |
| Definition | Acute sinusitis is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (J01). | Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with (acute) lower respiratory infection is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (J44.0). |
| Includes | acute abscess of sinus acute empyema of sinus acute infection of sinus acute inflammation of sinus | asthma with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease chronic asthmatic (obstructive) bronchitis chronic bronchitis with airway obstruction chronic bronchitis with emphysema |
| Use additional code | 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