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J40 ICD-10-CM Code: Bronchitis, not specified as acute or chronic

Billing Status: YES. This is a valid, specific, and billable ICD-10-CM reference.

Coding at a Glance

Tabular directives
4 inclusion terms · 4 Excludes1 · 1 Excludes2 · 7 use-additional codes

Inpatient Payment Groups (MS-DRG)

Potential MS-DRG participation — not a DRG assignment.

MS-DRGs this diagnosis helps define, as principal or secondary, per the CMS ICD-10-CM/PCS MS-DRG Definitions Manual v43, Appendix B.

  • MS-DRG 202 — BRONCHITIS AND ASTHMA WITH CC/MCC (MDC 04)
  • MS-DRG 203 — BRONCHITIS AND ASTHMA WITHOUT CC/MCC (MDC 04)

A diagnosis appearing in a group's logic does not by itself determine the DRG assigned to a stay; the grouper uses the full claim.

Coding instructions

Official Tabular Instructional Notes: the inclusion, exclusion and sequencing notes published for J40 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 J40 itself; “inherited from” names the category or block whose note applies here.

Inclusion Terms

Alternative terms the tabular list files under this code.

  • Bronchitis NOS
  • Bronchitis with tracheitis NOS
  • Catarrhal bronchitis
  • Tracheobronchitis NOS

Excludes1 — Not Coded Here

Conditions generally not reported together with this code (Excludes1) -- an error unless the two conditions are documented as unrelated to each other (ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).

Excludes2 — Not Included Here

Conditions not covered by this code, but which may be reported alongside it when both are present.

Source: inherited from J40-J4A

Use Additional Code

Supplementary codes the tabular list directs you to add.

  • Use additional code to identify:
  • exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (Z77.22)
  • exposure to tobacco smoke in the perinatal period (P96.81)
  • history of tobacco dependence (Z87.891)
  • occupational exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (Z57.31)
  • tobacco dependence (F17.-)
  • tobacco use (Z72.0)

Coder workflow for J40

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

Before you code J40

  1. Check the Excludes1 note: if the documentation supports a condition named there, do not simply proceed with J40. Excludes1 conditions are not reported together with this code unless the record shows they are unrelated (Guidelines I.A.12.a).

    See the official tabular notes

Choose the right path

  1. Does the documentation support a condition named in J40’s Excludes1 note?
    Yes → Do not simply proceed: review the excluded code. Both are reported only when the record shows the two conditions are unrelated.
    No → Continue.

    ReviewJ20, J45.909, J45.9, J68.0

Consider J40. Then work the Use Additional Code 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).
Acuity
Acute or chronic as documented; when both are documented and separate codes exist, both are reported with the acute code first (Guidelines I.B.8).
The conditions the Use Additional Code note names
Reported with this code when documented; a conditional instruction (“if applicable”, “if known”) applies only when the record supports it.

Official instructions as workflow

  • Excludes1 — check before selecting J40(4 notes)

    Coding workflow: If the documentation supports a condition named in this note, do not simply proceed with J40: the two are not reported together. The one exception is when the record shows the two conditions are unrelated to each other.

    CompareJ20, J45.909, J45.9, J68.0

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

  • Excludes2 — not part of J40(1 note)

    Coding workflow: The conditions named in this note are not included in J40. When the record documents both, both may be reported; the note is a boundary, not a prohibition.

    CompareE84

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

  • Use Additional Code — after identifying J40(7 notes)

    Coding workflow: Check whether the documentation supports the additional code(s) the note names, and report them with J40 when it does. Where the instruction is conditional (“if applicable”, “if known”), it applies only when the record documents the condition.

    ReviewZ77.22, P96.81, Z87.891, Z57.31, F17, Z72.0

    See the official tabular notes · Guidelines I.A.13

Coding decision scenarios

Pattern scenarios for this code’s structure — decision rules, not clinical cases

Documentation: Both the condition J40 describes and a condition named in its Excludes1 note are documented for the same encounter.

Coding question: Can both codes be reported?

Path: Review the Excludes1 note and the excluded code, and look for a provider statement on whether the two conditions are related.

Reason: Excludes1 means the two are not coded together; the exception is when the record shows the conditions are unrelated to each other (Guidelines I.A.12.a).

ReviewJ20, J45.909, J45.9, J68.0

Documentation: A condition the Use Additional Code note names is documented.

Coding question: Is a second code reported with J40?

Path: Review the Use Additional Code note and the code it names.

Reason: The additional code is reported when the record documents the condition; a conditional instruction applies only when its condition is met (Guidelines I.A.13).

ReviewZ77.22, P96.81, Z87.891, Z57.31, F17, Z72.0

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.

Code Overview

Bronchitis, not specified as acute or chronic is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (J40).

MedCoder summary Summary composed by MedCoder from this code's official ICD-10-CM record. The tabular instructional notes themselves appear verbatim below.

Indexed Clinical Terms (4)

Official source data — entries quoted as published, in the Index’s own lookup phrasing

Clinical term phrases from the official ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries that map to this code. These are alphabetic-index entries shown as the Index writes them — lookup phrasing, not necessarily the wording of a final diagnosis.

Official Coding Guidelines

Official source data — quoted verbatim from the CMS/NCHS Official Guidelines

Official source data — quoted verbatim from the CMS/NCHS Official Guidelines

Verbatim excerpts from the ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting (CMS/NCHS) that govern this code.

Chapter 1: Certain Infectious and Parasitic Diseases (A00-B99), U07.1, U09.9 a. Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) Infections 1) Code only confirmed cases

Bronchitis not otherwise specified (NOS) due to COVID- 19 should be coded using code U07.1 and J40, Bronchitis, not specified as acute or chronic. (iii)Lower respiratory infection If the COVID-19 is documented as being associated with a lower respiratory infection, not otherwise specified (NOS), or an acute respiratory infection, NOS, codes U07.1 and J22, Unspecified acute lower respiratory infection, should be assigned.

Decision Points

The directives on this code's own record, as a pre-claim checklist.

  1. 7 Use Additional Code instructions — report the named additional code(s) when the documentation supports them. See the Use Additional Code notes
  2. 4 Excludes1 entries — codes named there are generally not reported together with this code (Guidelines I.A.12.a). See the Excludes1 notes
  3. 1 Excludes2 entry — those conditions are not part of this code and may be reported additionally when documented. See the Excludes2 notes

Checklist rows are derived from this code's own official directives; the wording of each check is MedCoder editorial. The official notes themselves are in the sections each row links to.

Verify Before Coding

  • No Medicare Code Editor or MS-DRG Definitions Manual restrictions apply to this code.

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 J40 or its code family, from the CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes. Tabular-note edges are stored at the code family level that carries each note.

Referenced by 1 Excludes1 note: J20 — Acute bronchitis.

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

MS-DRG Grouper Relationships (FY2026)

Potential MS-DRG participation — not a DRG assignment.

FY2026 MS-DRG: not on the CMS CC/MCC list — as a secondary diagnosis this code does not change MS-DRG severity for that release.

Named in the grouper logic of 2 MS-DRGs: DRG 202 (MDC 04), DRG 203 (MDC 04).

From the CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual (Appendices B and C). Actual DRG assignment depends on the complete claim.

Clinical classification (AHRQ CCSR):RSP005 — Acute bronchitis (default).

Clinical Classifications Software Refined (CCSR) for ICD-10-CM Diagnoses. Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.

Related Codes

Same clinical category (CCSR)

AHRQ's Clinical Classifications Software groups these diagnoses under the same clinical category (Acute bronchitis).

J20.0 — Acute bronchitis due to Mycoplasma pneumoniae, J20.1 — Acute bronchitis due to Hemophilus influenzae, J20.2 — Acute bronchitis due to streptococcus, J20.3 — Acute bronchitis due to coxsackievirus, J20.4 — Acute bronchitis due to parainfluenza virus, J20.5 — Acute bronchitis due to respiratory syncytial virus, J20.6 — Acute bronchitis due to rhinovirus, J20.7 — Acute bronchitis due to echovirus, J20.8 — Acute bronchitis due to other specified organisms, J20.9 — Acute bronchitis, unspecified, J21.0 — Acute bronchiolitis due to respiratory syncytial virus, J21.1 — Acute bronchiolitis due to human metapneumovirus, J21.8 — Acute bronchiolitis due to other specified organisms, J21.9 — Acute bronchiolitis, unspecified

Same Index main term, other category

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

J20.1 — Acute bronchitis due to Hemophilus influenzae (acute or subacute, due to, Haemophilus influenzae), J20.2 — Acute bronchitis due to streptococcus (pneumococcal, acute or subacute), J20.3 — Acute bronchitis due to coxsackievirus (acute or subacute, due to, virus, coxsackie), J20.4 — Acute bronchitis due to parainfluenza virus (acute or subacute, due to, virus, parainfluenzae), J20.5 — Acute bronchitis due to respiratory syncytial virus (acute or subacute, due to, virus, respiratory syncytial), J20.6 — Acute bronchitis due to rhinovirus (acute or subacute, due to, virus, rhinovirus), J20.7 — Acute bronchitis due to echovirus (acute or subacute, due to, virus, echovirus), J20.8 — Acute bronchitis due to other specified organisms (viral NEC, acute or subacute), J20.9 — Acute bronchitis, unspecified (acute or subacute), J37.1 — Chronic laryngotracheitis (with, laryngitis, chronic), J41.0 — Simple chronic bronchitis (smokers'), J41.1 — Mucopurulent chronic bronchitis (fetid), J41.8 — Mixed simple and mucopurulent chronic bronchitis (mucopurulent, simple), J42 — Unspecified chronic bronchitis (senile), J44.0 — Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with (acute) lower respiratory infection (asthmatic, chronic, with, acute lower respiratory infection), J44.1 — Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease with (acute) exacerbation (asthmatic, chronic, with, exacerbation), J44.89 — Other specified chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (obstructive), J45.9 — Other and unspecified asthma (asthmatic), J45.901 — Unspecified asthma with (acute) exacerbation (allergic, with, exacerbation), J45.902 — Unspecified asthma with status asthmaticus (allergic, with, status asthmaticus), +17 more

Lab tests where this diagnosis supports Medicare coverage (NCD)

Medicare's National Coverage Determination (NCD) program lists this diagnosis as medical justification for these lab tests.

Blood Glucose Test

Contextual Map

Every relationship of J40 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 J40 with these 11 related codes in Claim Check

Hierarchy

Excludes1

Excludes2

  • E84 — Cystic fibrosis[Excludes2]: “cystic fibrosis (E84.-)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026

Use Additional Code

Referenced by Excludes1 notes

  • J20 — Acute bronchitis[Excludes1]: “bronchitis NOS (J40)”— CMS ICD-10-CM tabular instructional notes · icd10cm-fy2026

Clinical classification (CCSR)

MS-DRG Grouper

MDC crossing

  • MDC 04 — Diseases and Disorders of the Respiratory System[MDC crossing]: “Diseases and Disorders of the Respiratory System — the grouper's crossing between diagnoses and procedures: a principal diagnosis sets the MDC, and same-MDC procedures move the stay to its surgical DRGs. 3,998 same-MDC procedures group here; browse them on the MDC page.”— CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual · FY2026

Index entries

  • Bronchitis (diffuse) (fibrinous) (hypostatic) (infective) (membranous)[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Bronchitis (diffuse) (fibrinous) (hypostatic) (infective) (membranous), catarrhal (l5 years of age and above)[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Bronchitis (diffuse) (fibrinous) (hypostatic) (infective) (membranous), with, tracheitis (l5 years of age and above)[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026
  • Tracheitis (catarrhal) (infantile) (membranous) (plastic) (septal) (suppurative) (viral), with, bronchitis (15 years of age and above)[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026

Change history

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

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
Coding guidelines Official source data
ICD-10-CM Official Guidelines for Coding and Reporting (FY2026), quoted by section 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
Inpatient payment groups Official source data
CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual (incl. Appendix B diagnosis index, Appendix C CC/MCC list, Appendix E procedure index) and IPPS Final Rule tables — v43 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

Cite this page

Reference this page in a research guide, syllabus or article. The release is included because code content changes each year.

MedCoder.ai. "J40 — Bronchitis, not specified as acute or chronic." ICD-10-CM FY2026. https://medcoder.ai/icd10/code/j40-bronchitis-not-specified-as-acute-or-chronic

Change history

  • FY2016 — October 1, 2015
    In the code set at ICD-10-CM adoption
    Bronchitis, not specified as acute or chronic

No changes since FY2016 — additions, deletions, description changes and billable-status changes are tracked through FY2027 (effective October 1, 2026), and none are recorded for this code. Note changes are tracked from FY2027 only.