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J93.9 ICD-10-CM Code: Pneumothorax, unspecified

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

Coding at a Glance

Tabular directives
1 inclusion term · 6 Excludes1

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.

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 J93.9 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 J93.9 itself; “inherited from” names the category or block whose note applies here.

Inclusion Terms

Alternative terms the tabular list files under this code.

  • Pneumothorax 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).

Source: inherited from J93

Coder workflow for J93.9

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

Before you code J93.9

  1. Unspecified does not mean incorrect. When the record gives no greater specificity, J93.9 may be the appropriate code. Check the record for detail that supports a more specific sibling. An unspecified code is for records that do not provide the detail a more specific code needs; a query, not an assumption, is the route to specificity (Guidelines I.A.9.b, I.B.18).

    ReviewJ93.0, J93.1, J93.8

    See the relationships section · Guide: Other vs unspecified (NEC vs NOS) →

  2. Check the Excludes1 note: if the documentation supports a condition named there, do not simply proceed with J93.9. 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 record document the detail a more specific sibling code needs?
    Yes → Review the specific siblings in this subcategory.
    No → Continue — J93.9 is appropriate when the documentation goes no further.

    ReviewJ93.0, J93.1, J93.8

  2. Does the documentation support a condition named in J93.9’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.

    ReviewP25.1, J95.812, J95.811, S27.0, A15, J86

Consider J93.9. Then 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).
Any detail beyond this code’s title
What the record states that a more specific sibling code would capture — or its absence, which itself supports the unspecified code.

Official instructions as workflow

  • Excludes1 — check before selecting J93.9(6 notes)

    Coding workflow: If the documentation supports a condition named in this note, do not simply proceed with J93.9: the two are not reported together. The one exception is when the record shows the two conditions are unrelated to each other.

    CompareP25.1, J95.812, J95.811, S27.0, A15, J86

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

Coding decision scenarios

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

Documentation: The provider documents the condition in the terms of this code’s title and records no further detail.

Coding question: Is a more specific sibling code supportable?

Path: Review the specific siblings in this subcategory and what each requires the record to state.

Reason: A more specific code needs documentation of the distinguishing element; without it the unspecified code is appropriate, and a provider query is the route to specificity (Guidelines I.A.9.b, I.B.18).

ReviewJ93.0, J93.1, J93.8

Documentation: Both the condition J93.9 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).

ReviewP25.1, J95.812, J95.811, S27.0, A15, J86

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

Pneumothorax, unspecified is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code (J93.9).

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 (1)

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.

Verify Before Coding

  • CC as a secondary diagnosis (FY2026). Can raise the stay's MS-DRG severity tier.

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 J93.9 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: S27.0 — Traumatic pneumothorax (via J93.-).

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: CC — Complication or Comorbidity. Reported as a secondary diagnosis, this code raises the stay's MS-DRG severity tier — except when the principal diagnosis is one of 18 clinically related codes on its CMS exclusion list.

Named in the grouper logic of 3 MS-DRGs: DRG 199 (MDC 04), DRG 200 (MDC 04), DRG 201 (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):RSP014 — Pneumothorax (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 process (MS-DRG)

Acts as CC — raises the severity of other admissions. CMS groups these diagnoses into one MS-DRG principal-diagnosis exclusion process — a CC/MCC on this list never raises severity when the principal diagnosis is also on it.

J22 — Unspecified acute lower respiratory infection, J93.0 — Spontaneous tension pneumothorax, J93.11 — Primary spontaneous pneumothorax, J93.81 — Chronic pneumothorax, J93.82 — Other air leak, J93.83 — Other pneumothorax, J95.811 — Postprocedural pneumothorax, J95.812 — Postprocedural air leak, J98.4 — Other disorders of lung, J98.8 — Other specified respiratory disorders, J98.9 — Respiratory disorder, unspecified, N80.B1 — Endometriosis of pleura, N80.B2 — Endometriosis of lung, N80.B31 — Superficial endometriosis of diaphragm, N80.B32 — Deep endometriosis of diaphragm, N80.B39 — Endometriosis of diaphragm, unspecified depth, R91.1 — Solitary pulmonary nodule

Same clinical category (CCSR)

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

J93.0 — Spontaneous tension pneumothorax, J93.11 — Primary spontaneous pneumothorax, J93.12 — Secondary spontaneous pneumothorax, J93.81 — Chronic pneumothorax, J93.82 — Other air leak, J93.83 — Other pneumothorax, J95.811 — Postprocedural pneumothorax

Same Index main term, other category

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

J95.811 — Postprocedural pneumothorax (postprocedural), P25.1 — Pneumothorax originating in the perinatal period (congenital), S27.0 — Traumatic pneumothorax (traumatic), S27.2 — Traumatic hemopneumothorax (traumatic, with hemothorax)

Contextual Map

Every relationship of J93.9 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 J93.9 with this related code in Claim Check

Hierarchy

Referenced by Excludes1 notes

Clinical classification (CCSR)

MS-DRG Grouper

  • CC — Complication or Comorbidity [MS-DRG severity]: “As a secondary diagnosis this code can raise the stay's MS-DRG severity tier (CC).”— CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual (Appendix C) · FY2026
  • DRG 199 — PNEUMOTHORAX WITH MCC[MS-DRG]: “PNEUMOTHORAX WITH MCC (MDC 04)”— CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual (Appendix B) · FY2026
  • DRG 200 — PNEUMOTHORAX WITH CC[MS-DRG]: “PNEUMOTHORAX WITH CC (MDC 04)”— CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual (Appendix B) · FY2026
  • DRG 201 — PNEUMOTHORAX WITHOUT CC/MCC[MS-DRG]: “PNEUMOTHORAX WITHOUT CC/MCC (MDC 04)”— CMS MS-DRG Definitions Manual (Appendix B) · FY2026

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

  • Pneumothorax NOS[Index term]— CMS ICD-10-CM Index to Diseases and Injuries · icd10cm-fy2026

Nearest codes (9)

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
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. "J93.9 — Pneumothorax, unspecified." ICD-10-CM FY2026. https://medcoder.ai/icd10/code/j93.9-pneumothorax-unspecified

Change history

  • FY2016 — October 1, 2015
    In the code set at ICD-10-CM adoption
    Pneumothorax, unspecified

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.

Nearest Codes in This Family

Official ICD-10-CM classifications closest to J93.9 in its code family, with their registry titles.

View all codes in the J93 family