Acute tonsillitis, unspecified
- J03.9 should not be used for reimbursement purposes as there are multiple codes below it that contain a greater level of detail.
- The 2025 edition of ICD-10-CM J03.9 became effective on October 1, 2024.
- This is the American ICD-10-CM version of J03.9 – other international versions of ICD-10 J03.9 may differ.
Applicable To
- Follicular tonsillitis (acute)
- Gangrenous tonsillitis (acute)
- Infective tonsillitis (acute)
- Tonsillitis (acute) NOS
- Ulcerative tonsillitis (acute)
Type 1 Excludes
- influenza virus with other respiratory manifestations (J09.X2, J10.1, J11.1)
The following code(s) above J03.9 contain annotation back-references
that may be applicable to J03.9:
- J00-J99 Diseases of the respiratory system
- J00-J06 Acute upper respiratory infections
- J03 Acute tonsillitis
Clinical Information
- An acute inflammation of the tonsils caused by viruses or bacteria. Signs and symptoms include fever, enlargement of the tonsils, difficulty swallowing, and enlargement of the regional lymph nodes.
Code History
- 2016 (effective 10/1/2015): New code (first year of non-draft ICD-10-CM)
- 2017 (effective 10/1/2016): No change
- 2018 (effective 10/1/2017): No change
- 2019 (effective 10/1/2018): No change
- 2020 (effective 10/1/2019): No change
- 2021 (effective 10/1/2020): No change
- 2022 (effective 10/1/2021): No change
- 2023 (effective 10/1/2022): No change
- 2024 (effective 10/1/2023): No change
- 2025 (effective 10/1/2024): No change
Code annotations containing back-references to J03.9:
- Type 1 Excludes: J36