What is the ICD-10-CM code for cough?

The primary ICD-10-CM code for cough is R05.9 (Cough, unspecified). There are 12 billable cough codes in FY2027, covering different types and underlying causes.

How many ICD-10-CM codes are there for cough?

There are 13 ICD-10-CM codes for cough in the FY2027 tabular list, of which 12 are billable. These codes fall under Chapter 18 of the ICD-10-CM classification.

Which chapter covers cough in ICD-10-CM?

Cough codes are classified in Chapter 18 of the ICD-10-CM tabular list: R00–R99 (Symptoms, Signs and Abnormal Clinical and Laboratory Findings).

Cough ICD-10-CM codes

ICD-10-CM codes for cough (R05), split by duration into acute, subacute, and chronic cough, plus cough syncope and other specified cough.

13 codes, 12 billable. FY2027, valid from October 1, 2026. In chapter 18: Symptoms, Signs and Abnormal Clinical and Laboratory Findings.

How to code Cough

Category R05 was expanded in FY2022 so that duration can be reported. R05.1 is acute cough (under 3 weeks), R05.2 subacute cough (3 to 8 weeks), and R05.3 chronic cough (over 8 weeks), which also covers persistent and refractory cough. R05.4 is cough syncope and is reported with R55. R05.8 is other specified cough and R05.9 is cough, unspecified, the default when the provider gives no duration or descriptor.

Assign the duration-specific code only when the record documents the duration or uses the terms acute, subacute, or chronic; do not calculate it from visit dates. Some coughs are excluded from R05: cough with hemorrhage is hemoptysis R04.2, smokers' cough is J41.0 (simple chronic bronchitis), and psychogenic cough is F45.8.

Cough is integral to upper respiratory infection (J06.9), acute bronchitis (J20.9), asthma (J45.909), pneumonia, and similar diagnoses and is not coded separately once one of those is confirmed. In the outpatient setting, when the provider documents only cough and a suspected cause, report the R05 code alone.

All Cough codes

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