J44.81UpcomingBillable / specific

Bronchiolitis obliterans and bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome

Code-level instructions

Code first

, if applicable:
complication of bone marrow transplant (T86.09)
complication of stem cell transplant (T86.5)
heart-lung transplant rejection (T86.31)
lung transplant rejection (T86.810)
other complications of heart-lung transplant (T86.39)
other complications of lung transplant (T86.818)

Code also

, if applicable, associated conditions, such as:
chronic graft-versus-host disease (D89.811)
chronic lung allograft dysfunction (J4A.-)
chronic respiratory conditions due to chemicals, gases, fumes and vapors (J68.4)

Chapters 10 · Inherited instructions

Use additional code

code, where applicable, 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)

J40-J4B · Inherited instructions

Excludes 1

bronchitis due to chemicals, gases, fumes and vapors (J68.0)

J44 · Inherited instructions

Code also

type of asthma, if applicable (J45.-)

Excludes 2 · 16

Chapters 10 · Diseases of the respiratory system (J00-J99)

Excludes 2

certain conditions originating in the perinatal period (P04-P96)
certain infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99)
complications of pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (O00-O9A)
congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99)
endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E88)
injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00-T88)
neoplasms (C00-D49)
smoke inhalation (T59.81-)
symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R94)

J40-J4B · Chronic lower respiratory diseases (J40-J4B)

Excludes 2

cystic fibrosis (E84.-)

J44 · Other chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Excludes 2

bronchiectasis (J47.-)
chronic bronchitis NOS (J42)
chronic simple and mucopurulent bronchitis (J41.-)
chronic tracheitis (J42)
chronic tracheobronchitis (J42)
emphysema without chronic bronchitis (J43.-)

Claims & coverage

Coverage depends on the payer, service and applicable policy. A billable code does not guarantee payment.

When ICD-10-CM is required

For US diagnosis claims covered by HIPAA, ICD-10-CM is required from October 1, 2015.

Use the service date for outpatient/professional claims and the discharge date for hospital inpatient claims. Earlier encounters use ICD-9-CM; each individual code must also be valid for the applicable date.

Official coding guidelines → · CMS ↗

Check Medicare coverage ↗

First observed · 2023-10-01

Code history

Latest recorded change · FY2026

ChangedUnchanged

FY2026

Effective from 2025-10-01

Inherited rules changed

Bronchiolitis obliterans and bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome

Billable diagnosis code

CDC/NCHS · FY2026

All editions (7)

All editions	Effective from	Code history
FY2024	2023-10-01	Added
FY2024 · 04-01	2024-04-01	No tabular change
FY2025	2024-10-01	No tabular change
FY2025 · 04-01	2025-04-01	No tabular change
FY2026	2025-10-01	Inherited rules changed
FY2026 · April	2026-04-01	No tabular change
FY2027	2026-10-01	No tabular change

Code-level instructions

Inclusion terms

Obliterative bronchiolitis

Code first

, if applicable:
complication of bone marrow transplant (T86.09)
complication of stem cell transplant (T86.5)
heart-lung transplant rejection (T86.31)
lung transplant rejection (T86.810)
other complications of heart-lung transplant (T86.39)
other complications of lung transplant (T86.818)

Code also

, if applicable, associated conditions, such as:
chronic graft-versus-host disease (D89.811)
chronic lung allograft dysfunction (J4A.-)
chronic respiratory conditions due to chemicals, gases, fumes and vapors (J68.4)

Inherited instructions

Chapters 10 · Diseases of the respiratory system (J00-J99)

Excludes 2

certain conditions originating in the perinatal period (P04-P96)
certain infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99)
complications of pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (O00-O9A)
congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99)
endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E88)
injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00-T88)
neoplasms (C00-D49)
smoke inhalation (T59.81-)
symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R94)

Use additional code

code, where applicable, 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)

Note

When a respiratory condition is described as occurring in more than one site and is not specifically indexed, it should be classified to the lower anatomic site (e.g. tracheobronchitis to bronchitis in J40).

J40-J4B · Chronic lower respiratory diseases (J40-J4B)

Excludes 1

bronchitis due to chemicals, gases, fumes and vapors (J68.0)

Excludes 2

cystic fibrosis (E84.-)

J44 · Other chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Includes

asthma with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
chronic asthmatic (obstructive) bronchitis
chronic bronchitis with airway obstruction
chronic bronchitis with emphysema
chronic emphysematous bronchitis
chronic obstructive asthma
chronic obstructive bronchitis
chronic obstructive tracheobronchitis

Excludes 2

bronchiectasis (J47.-)
chronic bronchitis NOS (J42)
chronic simple and mucopurulent bronchitis (J41.-)
chronic tracheitis (J42)
chronic tracheobronchitis (J42)
emphysema without chronic bronchitis (J43.-)

Code also

type of asthma, if applicable (J45.-)

Official index references (9)

Bronchiolitis(acute) (infective) (subacute) (7)

Syndrome (2)

Syndrome › bronchiolitis obliteransDisease index
Syndrome › obliterans › bronchiolitisDisease index

Official conversion history

Historical assignments from the CDC conversion table support data retrieval. They do not authorize substituting a previous code for the current code.

Release dates 2023-10-01

Previous assignment: J42

Related codes

Other entries in the same category; these are not automatic substitutes.

Code	Description	Category · further specificity required
J44.89	Other specified chronic obstructive pulmonary disease	Billable / specific

Official titles and instructions are preserved in their source language. Official sources ↗

References from other codes (4)

J42 · Unspecified chronic bronchitis

Excludes 1 · bronchiolitis obliterans and bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (J44.81)

J4A · Chronic lung allograft dysfunction

Code also · , if applicable, bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (J44.81)

J4A.0 · Restrictive allograft syndrome

Code also · , if applicable, for mixed chronic lung allograft dysfunction, bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (J44.81)

J68.4 · Chronic respiratory conditions due to chemicals, gases, fumes and vapors

Code also · obliterative bronchiolitis (J44.81)

J44.81UpcomingBillable / specific

Bronchiolitis obliterans and bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome

Code-level instructions

Code first

, if applicable:
complication of bone marrow transplant (T86.09)
complication of stem cell transplant (T86.5)
heart-lung transplant rejection (T86.31)
lung transplant rejection (T86.810)
other complications of heart-lung transplant (T86.39)
other complications of lung transplant (T86.818)

Code also

, if applicable, associated conditions, such as:
chronic graft-versus-host disease (D89.811)
chronic lung allograft dysfunction (J4A.-)
chronic respiratory conditions due to chemicals, gases, fumes and vapors (J68.4)

Chapters 10 · Inherited instructions

Use additional code

code, where applicable, 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)

J40-J4B · Inherited instructions

Excludes 1

bronchitis due to chemicals, gases, fumes and vapors (J68.0)

J44 · Inherited instructions

Code also

type of asthma, if applicable (J45.-)

Excludes 2 · 16

Chapters 10 · Diseases of the respiratory system (J00-J99)

Excludes 2

certain conditions originating in the perinatal period (P04-P96)
certain infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99)
complications of pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (O00-O9A)
congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99)
endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E88)
injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00-T88)
neoplasms (C00-D49)
smoke inhalation (T59.81-)
symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R94)

J40-J4B · Chronic lower respiratory diseases (J40-J4B)

Excludes 2

cystic fibrosis (E84.-)

J44 · Other chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Excludes 2

bronchiectasis (J47.-)
chronic bronchitis NOS (J42)
chronic simple and mucopurulent bronchitis (J41.-)
chronic tracheitis (J42)
chronic tracheobronchitis (J42)
emphysema without chronic bronchitis (J43.-)

Claims & coverage

Coverage depends on the payer, service and applicable policy. A billable code does not guarantee payment.

When ICD-10-CM is required

For US diagnosis claims covered by HIPAA, ICD-10-CM is required from October 1, 2015.

Official coding guidelines → · CMS ↗

Check Medicare coverage ↗

First observed · 2023-10-01

Code history

Latest recorded change · FY2026

ChangedUnchanged

FY2026

Effective from 2025-10-01

Inherited rules changed

Bronchiolitis obliterans and bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome

Billable diagnosis code

CDC/NCHS · FY2026

All editions (7)

All editions	Effective from	Code history
FY2024	2023-10-01	Added
FY2024 · 04-01	2024-04-01	No tabular change
FY2025	2024-10-01	No tabular change
FY2025 · 04-01	2025-04-01	No tabular change
FY2026	2025-10-01	Inherited rules changed
FY2026 · April	2026-04-01	No tabular change
FY2027	2026-10-01	No tabular change

Code-level instructions

Inclusion terms

Obliterative bronchiolitis

Code first

, if applicable:
complication of bone marrow transplant (T86.09)
complication of stem cell transplant (T86.5)
heart-lung transplant rejection (T86.31)
lung transplant rejection (T86.810)
other complications of heart-lung transplant (T86.39)
other complications of lung transplant (T86.818)

Code also

, if applicable, associated conditions, such as:
chronic graft-versus-host disease (D89.811)
chronic lung allograft dysfunction (J4A.-)
chronic respiratory conditions due to chemicals, gases, fumes and vapors (J68.4)

Inherited instructions

Chapters 10 · Diseases of the respiratory system (J00-J99)

Excludes 2

certain conditions originating in the perinatal period (P04-P96)
certain infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99)
complications of pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (O00-O9A)
congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99)
endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E88)
injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00-T88)
neoplasms (C00-D49)
smoke inhalation (T59.81-)
symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R94)

Use additional code

code, where applicable, 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)

Note

J40-J4B · Chronic lower respiratory diseases (J40-J4B)

Excludes 1

bronchitis due to chemicals, gases, fumes and vapors (J68.0)

Excludes 2

cystic fibrosis (E84.-)

J44 · Other chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Includes

asthma with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
chronic asthmatic (obstructive) bronchitis
chronic bronchitis with airway obstruction
chronic bronchitis with emphysema
chronic emphysematous bronchitis
chronic obstructive asthma
chronic obstructive bronchitis
chronic obstructive tracheobronchitis

Excludes 2

bronchiectasis (J47.-)
chronic bronchitis NOS (J42)
chronic simple and mucopurulent bronchitis (J41.-)
chronic tracheitis (J42)
chronic tracheobronchitis (J42)
emphysema without chronic bronchitis (J43.-)

Code also

type of asthma, if applicable (J45.-)

Official index references (9)

Bronchiolitis(acute) (infective) (subacute) (7)

Syndrome (2)

Syndrome › bronchiolitis obliteransDisease index
Syndrome › obliterans › bronchiolitisDisease index

Official conversion history

Historical assignments from the CDC conversion table support data retrieval. They do not authorize substituting a previous code for the current code.

Release dates 2023-10-01

Previous assignment: J42

Related codes

Other entries in the same category; these are not automatic substitutes.

Code	Description	Category · further specificity required
J44.89	Other specified chronic obstructive pulmonary disease	Billable / specific

Official titles and instructions are preserved in their source language. Official sources ↗

References from other codes (4)

J42 · Unspecified chronic bronchitis

Excludes 1 · bronchiolitis obliterans and bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (J44.81)

J4A · Chronic lung allograft dysfunction

Code also · , if applicable, bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (J44.81)

J4A.0 · Restrictive allograft syndrome

Code also · , if applicable, for mixed chronic lung allograft dysfunction, bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome (J44.81)

J68.4 · Chronic respiratory conditions due to chemicals, gases, fumes and vapors

Code also · obliterative bronchiolitis (J44.81)