L00-L08 — Infections of the skin and subcutaneous tissue
ICD-10-CM codes L00-L08 cover infections of the skin and subcutaneous tissue, within diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue. The block holds 210 codes across 7 categories, of which 158 are billable and 52 are header codes that cannot be submitted on a claim.
Excludes2 — not included here, but may coexist
The excluded condition is not part of this code, but a patient can have both. You may code both.
- hordeolum (H00.0)
- infective dermatitis (L30.3)
- local infections of skin classified in Chapter 1
- lupus panniculitis (L93.2)
- panniculitis NOS (M79.3)
- panniculitis of neck and back (M54.0-)
- Perlèche NOS (K13.0)
- Perlèche due to candidiasis (B37.0)
- Perlèche due to riboflavin deficiency (E53.0)
- pyogenic granuloma (L98.0)
- relapsing panniculitis [Weber-Christian] (M35.6)
- viral warts (B07.-)
- zoster (B02.-)
Use additional code
Add a secondary code to capture the detail described below.
What else to watch in L00-L08
- 50 codes are laterality-specific. They come in left and right pairs, and the pair is mutually exclusive on a single site: coding both without a bilateral code is a contradiction a scrubber should catch before the payer does.
- 139 codes are named in Medicare coverage policies. An LCD or NCD lists them as supporting medical necessity, or explicitly as not supporting it. Which applies depends on the MAC for your state.