Pulmonology Coding Alert

Question: I'm confused about acute bronchospasm (519.11). I heard you can simply bill 786.07 for wheezing. When is it appropriate?

Alaska Subscriber

Answer: Pulmonologists may refer to wheezing as wheezing associated respiratory illness (WARI). The best diagnosis code for it is 519.11 (Acute bronchospasm). By definition, 786.07 (Wheezing) refers to a sound generated when air passes through narrowed respiratory passages. Code 519.11 is more specific for bronchospasm.

If a patient doesn't meet the criteria for a diagnosis of asthma, the physician usually uses the diagnosis of WARI. For instance, a child with an upper respiratory infectionhas his first episode of associated wheezing and requires treatment for bronchospasm. This would typically not warrant labeling a child with "asthma," using ICD-9 code 493.02 (Extrinsic asthma; with [acute] exacerbation), but would allow the use of 519.11.