Home > 2008 ICD-9-CM Diagnosis Codes > Diseases Of The Respiratory System 460-519 > Other Diseases Of Upper Respiratory Tract 470-478 > Other diseases of upper respiratory tract 478-
Specific code 2008 ICD-9-CM Diagnosis Code 478.21
Cellulitis of pharynx or nasopharynx
  • Short description: CELLULITIS OF PHARYNX.
  • ICD-9-CM 478.21 is a billable medical code that can be used to indicate a diagnosis on a reimbursement claim, however, 478.21 should only be used for claims with a date of service on or before September 30, 2015. For claims with a date of service on or after October 1, 2015, use an equivalent ICD-10-CM code (or codes).
  • You are viewing the 2008 version of ICD-9-CM 478.21.
  • More recent version(s) of ICD-9-CM 478.21: 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015.
Convert to ICD-10-CM: 478.21 converts approximately to:
  • 2015/16 ICD-10-CM J39.1 Other abscess of pharynx
Approximate Synonyms
  • Cellulitis of nasopharynx
  • Cellulitis of parapharyngeal space
  • Cellulitis of pharynx
  • Pharyngeal cellulitis
ICD-9-CM Volume 2 Index entries containing back-references to 478.21:
  • Cellulitis (diffuse) (with lymphangitis) (see also Abscess) 682.9
    • nasopharynx 478.21
    • pharynx 478.21
 478.20 ICD9Data.com 478.22 
ICD-9-CM codes are used in medical billing and coding to describe diseases, injuries, symptoms and conditions. ICD-9-CM 478.21 is one of thousands of ICD-9-CM codes used in healthcare. Although ICD-9-CM and CPT codes are largely numeric, they differ in that CPT codes describe medical procedures and services. Can't find a code? Start at the root of ICD-9-CM, check the 2008 ICD-9-CM Index or use the search engine at the top of this page to lookup any code.
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