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J09-J18 vs J69

J09-J18 (Influenza and pneumonia (J09-J18)) compared with J69 (Pneumonitis due to solids and liquids), from the official CMS tabular data.

Summary

These codes can be reported together when both conditions are documented, because J09-J18 lists J69 under Excludes2, which marks them as distinct conditions.

Official rule
What is different?

The conditions named.J09-J18 is “Influenza and pneumonia (J09-J18)”; J69 is “Pneumonitis due to solids and liquids”.

Registry fact

Can these codes be reported together?

Yes, when both are documented.J09-J18 lists J69 under Excludes2: “pneumonia due to solids and liquids (J69.-)”. Excludes2 marks distinct conditions that may both be reported when both are documented.

Official ruleGuide: Excludes1 vs Excludes2

Is there an Excludes1 relationship?

None.Neither entry carries an Excludes1 note that names the other code. J69 carries 2 Excludes1 notes covering other codes; the side-by-side table quotes them.

Official rule

Is there an Excludes2 relationship?

Yes.J09-J18’s tabular entry: “pneumonia due to solids and liquids (J69.-)”. The note covers J69.

Official ruleGuide: Excludes1 vs Excludes2

Is one more specific?

Not comparable.The codes sit in different categories; specificity is only comparable within one category.

Is one a parent or header code?

Both are headers.Both are non-billable headers, and neither contains the other.

Registry fact

Are there sequencing instructions?

None.Neither entry carries a Code First or Use Additional Code note that names the other.

Official rule

Are there other coding relationships?

None found.No laterality, encounter-phase, Table of Neoplasms, Table of Drugs and Chemicals, or history-versus-active-disease relationship links these codes.

MedCoder-derived

Official rule: a tabular instructional note or a section of the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, quoted as published. Registry fact: the codes’ own published attributes (titles, billable status, position in the hierarchy, code set). MedCoder-derived: a reading MedCoder computes from those facts; it is not itself a rule. How to read the labels

Can these codes be reported together?

Informational

Excludes2 relationship

J09-J18
Influenza and pneumonia (J09-J18)
↔
J69
Pneumonitis due to solids and liquids

What we found

Yes, when both are documented.J09-J18 carries an Excludes2 note covering J69: “pneumonia due to solids and liquids (J69.-)”

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

What to review

Report both only when the documentation supports both conditions; otherwise report the one documented.

Guide: Excludes1 vs Excludes2Check these on a claim

Why it matters

An Excludes2 note means the excluded condition is not part of the code above it, but a patient can have both. Report both when both are documented.

Source / rule

CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes

Official guidance behind these answers

  • Section I.A.12.b — Excludes2 · applies to: Excludes2

    A type 2 Excludes note represents “Not included here.” An excludes2 note indicates that the condition excluded is not part of the condition represented by the code, but a patient may have both conditions at the same time. When an Excludes2 note appears under a code, it is acceptable to use both the code and the excluded code together, when appropriate.

    ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines FY2026

Quoted from the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting in effect for the release shown. The tabular notes above are the code-level instruction; these sections are the convention that says how such a note is applied. Source document (CMS PDF) · Release and checksum

Side by side

J09-J18Influenza and pneumonia (J09-J18)J69Pneumonitis due to solids and liquids
Billing statusNon-billable headerNon-billable header

Report instead: J69.0, J69.1, J69.8

ClassificationJ00-J99 — Diseases of the Respiratory System (J00-J99)J00-J99 — Diseases of the Respiratory System (J00-J99)
DefinitionInfluenza and pneumonia (J09-J18) is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (J09-J18).Pneumonitis due to solids and liquids is a non-billable ICD-10-CM category code (J69).
Excludes1—
neonatal aspiration syndromes (P24.-)
postprocedural pneumonitis (J95.4)
Excludes2
allergic or eosinophilic pneumonia (J82)
aspiration pneumonia NOS (J69.0)
meconium pneumonia (P24.01)
neonatal aspiration pneumonia (P24.-)
pneumonia due to solids and liquids (J69.-)
congenital pneumonia (P23.9)
lipid pneumonia (J69.1)
rheumatic pneumonia (I00)
ventilator associated pneumonia (J95.851)
asthma (J45.-)
malignant neoplasm of bronchus and lung (C34.-)
Use additional code
code, if applicable, to identify resistance to antimicrobial drugs (Z16.-)
—
Code also—
, if applicable, other types of pneumonias, such as:
bacterial pneumonia (J13-J15.-)
viral pneumonia (J12.-)

Notes are the code’s own tabular entry, quoted as published. A note that names the other code is the one the verdict above rests on.

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Derived from the official CMS ICD-10-CM tabular data (FY2027). A coding-rule comparison, not billing advice: payer-specific edits and medical-necessity policy are outside its scope. All data sources