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Compare/J04.1 vs J42

J04.1 vs J42

J04.1 (Acute tracheitis) compared with J42 (Unspecified chronic bronchitis), from the official CMS tabular data. Both may be reported when both conditions are documented (Excludes2).

Can these codes be reported together?

Yes, when both are documented. J04.1 carries an Excludes2 note covering J42: “chronic tracheitis (J42)”

Excludes2 marks distinct conditions — both may be reported when both are documented.

Side by side

J04.1Acute tracheitisJ42Unspecified chronic bronchitis
Billing statusNon-billable header

Report instead: J04.10, J04.11

Billable
ClassificationJ00-J99 — Diseases of the Respiratory System (J00-J99)J00-J99 — Diseases of the Respiratory System (J00-J99)
DefinitionAcute tracheitis is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (J04.1).Unspecified chronic bronchitis is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (J42).
Includes
Acute viral tracheitis
Catarrhal tracheitis (acute)
Tracheitis (acute) NOS
Chronic bronchitis NOS
Chronic tracheitis
Chronic tracheobronchitis
Use additional code
code (B95-B97) to identify infectious agent.
code to identify:
exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (Z77.22)
exposure to tobacco smoke in the perinatal period (P96.81)
Edit this comparisonCheck a whole claim

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