J91.0Malignant pleural effusion

J91.0 is the ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for malignant pleural effusion. It belongs to category J91 (pleural effusion in conditions classified elsewhere), block J90-J94 (other diseases of the pleura) and chapter 10 (diseases of the respiratory system). It is billable, so it can be reported on its own for dates of service from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.

Within J91 (pleural effusion in conditions classified elsewhere), J91.0 is specifically for malignant pleural effusion. Related codes cover pleural effusion in other conditions classified elsewhere (J91.8).

Code first: underlying neoplasm (C00-D49).

As a secondary diagnosis it is a CC (complication or comorbidity), which can move an inpatient stay into the "with CC" MS-DRG of its family, unless the principal diagnosis excludes it.

In MS-DRG v44.0, it is part of the grouping logic for DRG 180 (Respiratory Neoplasms with MCC, relative weight 1.7806), DRG 181 (Respiratory Neoplasms with CC, relative weight 1.0936) and DRG 182 (Respiratory Neoplasms without CC/MCC, relative weight 0.7439), in MDC 04 (Diseases and Disorders of the Respiratory System), as a principal or secondary diagnosis. The DRG a claim lands in depends on the principal diagnosis, procedures and any CC/MCC secondary diagnoses.

It is a manifestation code, so it describes the effect of an underlying disease and can't be the principal diagnosis. Code the underlying condition first.

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

Before ICD-10, this condition was coded in ICD-9-CM as 511.81 (malignant pleural effusion).