H04.3Acute and unspecified inflammation of lacrimal passages

H04.3 is the ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for acute and unspecified inflammation of lacrimal passages. It belongs to category H04 (disorders of lacrimal system), block H00-H05 (disorders of eyelid, lacrimal system and orbit) and chapter 7 (diseases of the eye and adnexa). It is a header code, so it can't be reported by itself; one of its 4 subcodes must be used instead.

Within H04, choose H04.3 (Acute and unspecified inflammation of lacrimal passages) only when documentation doesn't support a more specific option: dacryoadenitis (H04.0), other disorders of lacrimal gland (H04.1), epiphora (H04.2), chronic inflammation of lacrimal passages (H04.4), stenosis and insufficiency of lacrimal passages (H04.5), other changes of lacrimal passages (H04.6), other disorders of lacrimal system (H04.8) and disorder of lacrimal system, unspecified (H04.9).

To report this condition, pick the subcode that matches the documentation: H04.30 (dacryocystitis), H04.31 (dacryocystitis), H04.32 (dacryocystitis) and H04.33 (canaliculitis).

Don't report H04.3 together with the conditions in its Excludes1 note: neonatal dacryocystitis (P39.1).

It has been part of ICD-10-CM since the code set took effect on October 1, 2015 and hasn't changed since.