H35.06 ICD-10-CM Code: Retinal vasculitis

Coding instructions

Official Tabular Instructional Notes: the inclusion, exclusion and sequencing notes published for H35.06 in the official ICD-10-CM tabular list, quoted as published.

Source: CMS/CDC — ICD-10-CM Tabular ListRelease: FY2026Effective: October 1, 2025

Notes without a marker are published on H35.06 itself; “inherited from” names the category or block whose note applies here.

Coder workflow for H35.06

MedCoder structured workflow — derived from this code’s own official record

Before you code H35.06

1. H35.06 is not reportable as written. Select the more specific code beneath it that the documentation supports. Codes are reported to the highest level of specificity the classification provides (Guidelines I.B.2).

   ReviewH35.061, H35.062, H35.063, H35.069

   See the relationships section · Guide: How to choose an ICD-10-CM code →

Choose the right path

1. Does the documentation support one of the more specific codes beneath H35.06?
   Yes → Select that code and continue the checks below on its own page.
   No → H35.06 cannot be reported as written; query for the specificity its subcategory needs.

   ReviewH35.061, H35.062, H35.063, H35.069

Consider H35.06. Then review the Code Also note, and confirm the code is valid for the date of service in the Verify section.

Documentation check

The provider’s diagnostic statement

Codes are assigned from the provider’s documented diagnosis, not from clinical criteria, test values or a medication list (Guidelines I.A.19).

Official instructions as workflow

• Excludes2 — not part of H35.06(1 note)

  Coding workflow: The conditions named in this note are not included in H35.06. When the record documents both, both may be reported; the note is a boundary, not a prohibition.

  See the official tabular notes · Guidelines I.A.12.b

• Code Also — related condition(1 note)

  Coding workflow: Review the related condition when both are documented and the instruction applies. A Code Also note does not fix sequencing; the order follows the circumstances of the encounter.

  ReviewI10

  See the official tabular notes · Guidelines I.A.17

Every row is derived from this code’s own record — its title, tabular notes, 7th-character family and same-category siblings — with fixed MedCoder wording; nothing is inferred about a patient. The official notes and guideline text are in the sections each row links to, and they control.

Don’t confuse H35.06 with…

MedCoder analysis — pairs from this code’s official notes, distinctions written by MedCoder

The codes most likely to be picked instead of H35.06 — named in its own official notes, or sharing its laterality or encounter family — with what separates them and which documentation moves the case. Each links to the full comparison.

• H35.04— Specificity relationship (Review)

  Overlapping diagnoses in the same category.

  Overlapping codes in the same category — the documentation decides which is the more specific fit.

  What moves you there: A record that documents no more than “Retinal micro-aneurysms, unspecified” takes H35.04; specificity in the record moves it back here.

  Full comparison: H35.06 vs H35.04 →

• E08.311— Excludes2 relationship (Informational)

  Distinct conditions — both may be reported.

  A distinct condition — both may be reported when both are documented.

  What moves you there: Documentation of diabetic retinal disorders adds E08.311; it is not part of this code and both may be reported when both are documented.

  Full comparison: H35.06 vs E08.311 →

• E08.359— Excludes2 relationship (Informational)

  Distinct conditions — both may be reported.

  A distinct condition — both may be reported when both are documented.

  What moves you there: Documentation of diabetic retinal disorders adds E08.359; it is not part of this code and both may be reported when both are documented.

  Full comparison: H35.06 vs E08.359 →

• E09.311— Excludes2 relationship (Informational)

  Distinct conditions — both may be reported.

  A distinct condition — both may be reported when both are documented.

  What moves you there: Documentation of diabetic retinal disorders adds E09.311; it is not part of this code and both may be reported when both are documented.

  Full comparison: H35.06 vs E09.311 →

• E09.359— Excludes2 relationship (Informational)

  Distinct conditions — both may be reported.

  A distinct condition — both may be reported when both are documented.

  What moves you there: Documentation of diabetic retinal disorders adds E09.359; it is not part of this code and both may be reported when both are documented.

  Full comparison: H35.06 vs E09.359 →

• E10.311— Excludes2 relationship (Informational)

  Distinct conditions — both may be reported.

  A distinct condition — both may be reported when both are documented.

  What moves you there: Documentation of diabetic retinal disorders adds E10.311; it is not part of this code and both may be reported when both are documented.

  Full comparison: H35.06 vs E10.311 →

Relationships are read from this code's own official notes, its laterality siblings and its encounter family; the wording of each distinction is MedCoder editorial, and the documentation named in each “what moves you there” line is the official note phrase or sibling title itself. Source: CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes; ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a.

Verify Before Coding

• Not billable as written — a more specific code is required: H35.061, H35.062, H35.063, H35.069.

From the code registry, the Medicare Code Editor, and the MS-DRG Definitions Manual. Check it against a full claim in Claim Check.

Relationships & Classification

MedCoder structured relationships — computed from published CMS and AHRQ datasets

Other codes that name H35.06 or its code family, from the CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes and the CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries. Tabular-note edges are stored at the code family level that carries each note.

Referenced by 1 Excludes1 note: H36 — Retinal disorders in diseases classified elsewhere (via H35.0.-).

These codes’ tabular lists mark this diagnosis as mutually exclusive — not reported together unless the conditions are documented as unrelated.

Referenced by 3 Excludes2 notes: I10 — Essential (primary) hypertension (via H35.0.-), I15 — Secondary hypertension (via H35.0.-), I86 — Varicose veins of other sites (via H35.0.-).

These codes’ tabular lists name this diagnosis as distinct — both may be reported when both are documented.

Referenced by 1 Index etiology/manifestation pair: I70.8 — Atherosclerosis of other arteries (via H35.0.-).

The ICD-10-CM Index lists these etiology codes with this code in brackets — the manifestation, reported second.

Related Codes

Same Index main term, other category

The ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries files this code under the main term “Vasculitis”; these codes share that main term but sit in a different category of the Tabular List.

D69.0 — Allergic purpura (allergic), D89.1 — Cryoglobulinemia (cryoglobulinemic), I77.6 — Arteritis, unspecified, I77.82 — Antineutrophilic cytoplasmic antibody [ANCA] vasculitis (ANCApositive), I77.89 — Other specified disorders of arteries and arterioles (kidney), L95.0 — Livedoid vasculitis (livedoid), L95.8 — Other vasculitis limited to the skin (nodular), L95.9 — Vasculitis limited to the skin, unspecified (skin), M31.0 — Hypersensitivity angiitis (leukocytoclastic), M31.8 — Other specified necrotizing vasculopathies (systemic)

Contextual Map

Every relationship of H35.06 in one view: hierarchy, official tabular instructions in both directions, clinical classification, risk adjustment, MS-DRG participation, index terms and change history — each edge carrying the CMS source it derives from.

Run H35.06 with these 4 related codes in Claim Check

Hierarchy

• H00-H59 — Chapter 7: Diseases of the Eye and Adnexa (H00-H59) (H00-H59)[Hierarchy]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• H30-H36 — Disorders of choroid and retina[Hierarchy]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026

Referenced by Excludes1 notes

• H36 — Retinal disorders in diseases classified elsewhere[Excludes1](via H35.0.-): “arteriosclerotic retinopathy (H35.0-)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026

Referenced by Excludes2 notes

• I10 — Essential (primary) hypertension[Excludes2](via H35.0.-): “essential (primary) hypertension involving vessels of eye (H35.0-)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026
• I15 — Secondary hypertension[Excludes2](via H35.0.-): “secondary hypertension involving vessels of eye (H35.0-)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026
• I86 — Varicose veins of other sites[Excludes2](via H35.0.-): “retinal varices (H35.0-)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026

Referenced by Index etiology/manifestation pairs

• I70.8 — Atherosclerosis of other arteries[Index manifestation](via H35.0.-): “Retinopathy, atherosclerotic”— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026

Nearest codes (40)

• H35 — Other retinal disorders[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• H35.02 — Exudative retinopathy[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• H35.021 — Exudative retinopathy, right eye[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• H35.022 — Exudative retinopathy, left eye[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• H35.023 — Exudative retinopathy, bilateral[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• H35.029 — Exudative retinopathy, unspecified eye[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• H35.03 — Hypertensive retinopathy[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• H35.031 — Hypertensive retinopathy, right eye[Sibling]— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular structure · icd10cm-fy2026
• and 32 more

Change history

• FY2016 — In the code set at ICD-10-CM adoption [Change history]— CMS release files (code change ledger) · icd10cm-fy2016

Common coding questions

Sources for this page

Codes, titles, notes, index terms and mappings on this page are transcribed from the datasets below. Relationships MedCoder computed and text MedCoder wrote are labelled where they appear.

Code, title, tabular notes and index terms Official source data

CMS/CDC ICD-10-CM FY2026 tabular list, index and tables, effective October 1, 2025 Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page

Claim edits Official source data

CMS Definitions of Medicare Code Edits — v43.1 (April 2026) Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page

Change history and date-of-service validity Official source data

CMS ICD-10-CM release addenda, ingested release by release into the change ledger Release, file and checksum · Publisher’s page

Comparisons, relationships and the contextual map MedCoder structured relationship

Computed by MedCoder from the tabular notes and tables above; every derived relationship is marked as derived where it appears

Summary and FAQ answers MedCoder explanation

Written by MedCoder to explain the sources above: drafted with AI assistance, checked by a person against the release files, and labelled as MedCoder text where it appears. Not official text.

Labels on this page: Official source data · MedCoder structured relationship · MedCoder explanation. How to read the labels · All data sources and release dates

Nearest Codes in This Family

Official ICD-10-CM classifications closest to H35.06 in its code family, with their registry titles.

• H35.05 — Retinal neovascularization, unspecified
• H35.051 — Retinal neovascularization, unspecified, right eye
• H35.052 — Retinal neovascularization, unspecified, left eye
• H35.053 — Retinal neovascularization, unspecified, bilateral
• H35.059 — Retinal neovascularization, unspecified, unspecified eye
• H35.061 — Retinal vasculitis, right eye
• H35.062 — Retinal vasculitis, left eye
• H35.063 — Retinal vasculitis, bilateral
• H35.069 — Retinal vasculitis, unspecified eye
• H35.07 — Retinal telangiectasis

View all codes in the H35 family