Pulmonology Coding Alert

Question: My pulmonologist put both bronchitis and upper respiratory infection as the diagnoses. Can I code both or only the bronchitis?

New York Subscriber

Answer: You should code both diagnoses since the physician stated both. Bronchitis would cover the 490-491 codes in ICD-9. For URI, you should report either 465.0 (Acute laryngopharyngitis), 465.8 (Acute upper respiratory infections of other multiple sites), or 465.9 (Acute upper respiratory infections of unspecified site).

Bronchitis is an inflammation of the airways (called bronchi), and is usually caused by infectious agents such as bacteria or viruses.

An upper respiratory infection (URI) includes any infectious-disease process that usually involves the respiratory system. The upper respiratory tract includes the:

• nose
• nasal cavity
• ethmoidal air cells
• frontal sinuses
• maxillary sinus
• larynx
• trachea.

Physicians sometimes use the term bronchitis along with upper respiratory infection since the patient may have started with a URI that developed into bronchitis, but because the bronchi are found in the lungs, bronchitis is actually a lower respiratory infection or a lung condition.