Specific code 2015 ICD-9-CM Diagnosis Code 518.81
Acute respiratory failure
  • 2015
  • Billable Thru Sept 30/2015
  • Non-Billable On/After Oct 1/2015

  • ICD-9-CM 518.81 is a billable medical code that can be used to indicate a diagnosis on a reimbursement claim, however, 518.81 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).
Convert to ICD-10-CM: 518.81 converts approximately to:
  • 2015/16 ICD-10-CM J96.00 Acute respiratory failure, unspecified whether with hypoxia or hypercapnia
    Or:
  • 2015/16 ICD-10-CM J96.90 Respiratory failure, unspecified, unspecified whether with hypoxia or hypercapnia
Approximate Synonyms
  • Acute hypercapnic respiratory failure
  • Acute hypercapnic respiratory failure due to obstructive sleep apnea
  • Acute hypercarbic respiratory failure secondary to obstuctive sleep apnea
  • Acute hypoxemic respiratory failure
  • Acute respiratory failure from obstuctive sleep apnea
  • Alveolar hypoventilation
  • Hypercapnic respiratory failure
  • Hypoxemic respiratory failure
  • Postprocedural respiratory failure
  • Respiratory failure
Clinical Information
  • Life-threatening respiratory failure that develops rapidly. Causes include injury, sepsis, drug overdose, and pancreatitis. It manifests with dyspnea and cyanosis and may lead to cardiovascular shock
  • Respiratory function fails to maintain adequate oxygen supply and carbon dioxide removal
518.81 Excludes
  • acute and chronic respiratory failure (518.84)
  • acute respiratory distress (518.82)
  • acute respiratory failure following trauma and surgery (518.51)
  • chronic respiratory failure (518.83)
  • respiratory arrest (799.1)
  • respiratory failure, newborn (770.84)
Applies To
  • Respiratory failure NOS
ICD-9-CM Volume 2 Index entries containing back-references to 518.81:
  • Failure, failed
  • Respiration
    • failure 518.81
  • Respiratory - see also condition
    • failure 518.81
      • acute 518.81
        • following trauma and surgery 518.51
      • acute and chronic 518.84
        • following trauma and surgery 518.53
      • chronic 518.83
      • following trauma and surgery 518.51
ICD-9-CM codes are used in medical billing and coding to describe diseases, injuries, symptoms and conditions. ICD-9-CM 518.81 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 2015 ICD-9-CM Index or use the search engine at the top of this page to lookup any code.