2024 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code L03.119

Cellulitis of unspecified part of limb

ICD-10-CM Code:
L03.119
ICD-10 Code for:
Cellulitis of unspecified part of limb
Is Billable?
Yes - Valid for Submission
Chronic Condition Indicator: [1]
Not chronic
Code Navigator:

Code Classification

  • Diseases of the skin and subcutaneous tissue
    (L00–L99)
    • Infections of the skin and subcutaneous tissue
      (L00-L08)
      • Cellulitis and acute lymphangitis
        (L03)

L03.119 is a billable diagnosis code used to specify a medical diagnosis of cellulitis of unspecified part of limb. The code is valid during the current fiscal year for the submission of HIPAA-covered transactions from October 01, 2023 through September 30, 2024.

Unspecified diagnosis codes like L03.119 are acceptable when clinical information is unknown or not available about a particular condition. Although a more specific code is preferable, unspecified codes should be used when such codes most accurately reflect what is known about a patient's condition. Specific diagnosis codes should not be used if not supported by the patient's medical record.

Approximate Synonyms

The following clinical terms are approximate synonyms or lay terms that might be used to identify the correct diagnosis code:

  • Abscess of ankle
  • Abscess of axilla
  • Abscess of elbow
  • Abscess of forearm
  • Abscess of heel
  • Abscess of hip
  • Abscess of knee
  • Abscess of lower leg
  • Abscess of thigh
  • Abscess of upper arm
  • Abscess of wrist
  • Cellulitis and abscess of ankle
  • Cellulitis and abscess of axilla
  • Cellulitis and abscess of elbow
  • Cellulitis and abscess of forearm
  • Cellulitis and abscess of hand
  • Cellulitis and abscess of heel
  • Cellulitis and abscess of hip
  • Cellulitis and abscess of knee
  • Cellulitis and abscess of lower leg
  • Cellulitis and abscess of lower limb
  • Cellulitis and abscess of lower limb
  • Cellulitis and abscess of shoulder
  • Cellulitis and abscess of thigh
  • Cellulitis and abscess of trunk
  • Cellulitis and abscess of upper arm
  • Cellulitis and abscess of upper limb
  • Cellulitis and abscess of upper limb
  • Cellulitis and abscess of wrist
  • Cellulitis of ankle
  • Cellulitis of ankle
  • Cellulitis of axilla
  • Cellulitis of axilla
  • Cellulitis of dorsum of hand
  • Cellulitis of elbow
  • Cellulitis of elbow
  • Cellulitis of foot
  • Cellulitis of foot due to diabetes mellitus
  • Cellulitis of foot excluding toe
  • Cellulitis of forearm
  • Cellulitis of forearm
  • Cellulitis of hand
  • Cellulitis of hand excluding finger
  • Cellulitis of heel
  • Cellulitis of heel
  • Cellulitis of hip
  • Cellulitis of hip
  • Cellulitis of knee
  • Cellulitis of knee
  • Cellulitis of leg, excluding foot
  • Cellulitis of lower leg
  • Cellulitis of lower leg
  • Cellulitis of lower limb
  • Cellulitis of palm of hand
  • Cellulitis of shoulder
  • Cellulitis of shoulder
  • Cellulitis of shoulder
  • Cellulitis of thigh
  • Cellulitis of thigh
  • Cellulitis of upper arm
  • Cellulitis of upper arm
  • Cellulitis of upper limb
  • Cellulitis of wrist
  • Cellulitis of wrist

Clinical Classification

Clinical Information

  • Cellulitis of Hand

    cellulitis of the hand.

Code Edits

The Medicare Code Editor (MCE) detects and reports errors in the coding of claims data. The following ICD-10-CM Code Edits are applicable to this code:

  • Unspecified codes - Unspecified codes exist in the ICD-10-CM classification for circumstances when documentation in the medical record does not provide the level of detail needed to support reporting a more specific code. However, in the inpatient setting, there should generally be very limited and rare circumstances for which the laterality (right, left, bilateral) of a condition is unable to be documented and reported. The following pages contain the list of unspecified ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes for which there is a more specific code to identify laterality (right, left, bilateral) within that code family.

Convert L03.119 to ICD-9-CM

  • ICD-9-CM Code: 682.3 - Cellulitis of arm
    Approximate Flag - The approximate mapping means there is not an exact match between the ICD-10 and ICD-9 codes and the mapped code is not a precise representation of the original code.
  • ICD-9-CM Code: 682.4 - Cellulitis of hand
    Approximate Flag - The approximate mapping means there is not an exact match between the ICD-10 and ICD-9 codes and the mapped code is not a precise representation of the original code.
  • ICD-9-CM Code: 682.6 - Cellulitis of leg
    Approximate Flag - The approximate mapping means there is not an exact match between the ICD-10 and ICD-9 codes and the mapped code is not a precise representation of the original code.
  • ICD-9-CM Code: 682.7 - Cellulitis of foot
    Approximate Flag - The approximate mapping means there is not an exact match between the ICD-10 and ICD-9 codes and the mapped code is not a precise representation of the original code.

Patient Education


Cellulitis

Cellulitis is an infection of the skin and deep underlying tissues. Group A strep (streptococcal) bacteria are the most common cause. The bacteria enter your body when you get an injury such as a bruise, burn, surgical cut, or wound.

Symptoms include:

  • Fever and chills
  • Swollen glands or lymph nodes
  • A rash with painful, red, tender skin. The skin may blister and scab over.

Your health care provider may take a sample or culture from your skin or do a blood test to identify the bacteria causing infection. Treatment is with antibiotics. They may be oral in mild cases, or intravenous (by IV) for more severe cases.


[Learn More in MedlinePlus]

Code History

  • FY 2024 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2023 through 9/30/2024
  • FY 2023 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2022 through 9/30/2023
  • FY 2022 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2021 through 9/30/2022
  • FY 2021 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2020 through 9/30/2021
  • FY 2020 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2019 through 9/30/2020
  • FY 2019 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2018 through 9/30/2019
  • FY 2018 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2017 through 9/30/2018
  • FY 2017 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2016 through 9/30/2017
  • FY 2016 - New Code, effective from 10/1/2015 through 9/30/2016. This was the first year ICD-10-CM was implemented into the HIPAA code set.

Footnotes

[1] Not chronic - A diagnosis code that does not fit the criteria for chronic condition (duration, ongoing medical treatment, and limitations) is considered not chronic. Some codes designated as not chronic are acute conditions. Other diagnosis codes that indicate a possible chronic condition, but for which the duration of the illness is not specified in the code description (i.e., we do not know the condition has lasted 12 months or longer) also are considered not chronic.