Pulmonology Coding Alert

Question: How should I code reactive airway disease without coding asthma? I can't find a listing in the ICD-9 manual.

West Virginia Subscriber

Answer: Sometimes, you will not find a particular disease or condition - such as reactive airway disease - with its own separate entry in the ICD-9 manual. In those cases, you may report the code that ICD-9 indicates in the "Index to Disease." In this case, the code suggested in the index is 493.9x (Asthma, unspecified). If warranted, you may report additional codes to describe any exacerbations or acuity of the disease. Check your pulmonologist's documentation for notes about the patient's disease. If acute bronchitis or bronchiolitis causes a reactive airway disease flare up, you would report 466.x (Acute bronchitis and bronchiolitis). If your physician noted wheezing, you would use 786.07 (Wheezing).

 - Answers for You Be the Coder and Reader Questions were reviewed by Carol Pohlig, BSN, RN, CPC, senior coding and education specialist at the University of Pennsylvania department of medicine in Philadelphia; and Anthony M. Marinelli, MD, FCCP, chairman of the American Thoracic Society's Clinical Practice Committee.