Acute contact otitis externa

Not billableICD-10-CM diagnosis code.

This code exists but cannot be submitted on its own. It groups the more specific codes beneath it.

A category header for its whole life, FY2016 onwards. It has never been valid for submission on its own.

Submit one of these 4 more specific codes instead:

H60.531 Acute contact otitis externa, right ear
H60.532 Acute contact otitis externa, left ear
H60.533 Acute contact otitis externa, bilateral
H60.539 Acute contact otitis externa, unspecified ear

What has happened to this code

Every change the publisher made, from 2012 to now. Entries marked draft are from the pre-implementation releases: ICD-10 took effect on 1 October 2015, so nothing before FY2016 was ever valid on a claim.

FY2012 Added to the draft code set draft Acute contact otitis externa

How CDC's index refers to this code

Wording from the official alphabetic index. Much of it appears nowhere in the code description, which is why a search for the everyday phrase so often finds nothing.

Disease, diseased > outer ear
Disease, diseased > auditory canal
Disease, diseased > external > ear
Disorder > ear > external > otitis
Disease, diseased > external > auditory canal
Inflammation, inflamed, inflammatory > ear > external
Inflammation, inflamed, inflammatory > auditory meatus
Otitis > externa > acute > contact

Codes in the same group

Code	Description	Status
H60.50	Unspecified acute noninfective otitis externa	Not billable
H60.51	Acute actinic otitis externa	Not billable
H60.52	Acute chemical otitis externa	Not billable
H60.54	Acute eczematoid otitis externa	Not billable
H60.55	Acute reactive otitis externa	Not billable
H60.59	Other noninfective acute otitis externa	Not billable