2027 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code K81.0Acute cholecystitis
ICD-10-CM Codes›K00–K95›K80-K87›K81
- Billable — Valid for Submission
- CC — Complication or Comorbidity
- Not Chronic
K81.0 is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for acute cholecystitis. It is valid on HIPAA claims for fiscal year 2027 (October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027) and groups to MS-DRG 444 through 446. As a secondary diagnosis, it counts as a complication or comorbidity (CC) and moves an inpatient stay to a higher severity level within its MS-DRG family. It does not count, however, when the principal diagnosis is one of 14 closely related codes. In AHRQ's Clinical Classifications Software (CCSR), this diagnosis falls under Biliary tract disease.
Code Identity
Code Classification
Approximate SynonymsGuidance
Alternate terms and clinical phrases that map to this code.
- Abscess of gallbladder
- Acute angiocholecystitis
- Acute cholecystitis
- Acute cholecystitis without calculus
- Acute emphysematous cholecystitis
- Acute gangrenous cholecystitis
- Acute hemorrhagic cholecystitis
- Acute suppurative cholecystitis
- Angiocholecystitis
- Cholecystitis without calculus
- Empyema of gallbladder
- Gangrene of gallbladder
- Infective cholangitis
- Pericholecystic abscess
- Pneumocholecystitis
Instructional NotesGuidance
Instructions from the official ICD-10-CM Tabular List that apply to K81.0: its own notes plus those printed at K81 and Chapter 11. A note printed at a category, block or chapter applies to every code under it.
Applicable To
Conditions this code is used for: synonyms of the title or, for "other specified" codes, the conditions assigned to it. The list is not exhaustive.
- Abscess of gallbladder
- Angiocholecystitis
- Emphysematous (acute) cholecystitis
- Empyema of gallbladder
- Gangrene of gallbladder
- Gangrenous cholecystitis
- Suppurative cholecystitis
Excludes1
Not coded here: the excluded code is never reported together with this one, unless the two conditions are unrelated.
Excludes2
Not included here: the excluded condition is not part of this code, but a patient may have both, so both codes may be reported.
- certain conditions originating in the perinatal period (P04-P96)
- certain infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99)
- complications of pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium (O00-O9A)
- congenital malformations, deformations and chromosomal abnormalities (Q00-Q99)
- endocrine, nutritional and metabolic diseases (E00-E88)
- injury, poisoning and certain other consequences of external causes (S00-T88)
- neoplasms (C00-D49)
- symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified (R00-R94)
Use Additional Code
Add a second code, after this one, to fully describe the condition.
Source: CMS ICD-10-CM Tabular List. How to read instructional notes.
Referenced in Other NotesGuidance
Instructional notes printed at other codes that name K81.0, its category, or a range that includes it.
Excludes1 1
These codes carry an Excludes1 note naming K81.0: they are not reported together with it, unless the two conditions are unrelated.
Excludes2 2
These codes carry an Excludes2 note naming K81.0: its condition is not part of those codes, and both may be reported when the patient has both.
Code First 1
These codes say to code first a condition named in the note, and K81.0 is one of the conditions named.
Index to Diseases and InjuriesGuidance
Alphabetical index entries that point to this code.
Abscess (connective tissue) (embolic) (fistulous) (infective) (metastatic) (multiple) (pernicious) (pyogenic) (septic) L02.91
gallbladder K81.0
Gallbladder See Also: condition;
acute K81.0
Septic See: condition;
gallbladder (acute) K81.0
Suppuration, suppurative See Also: condition;
gallbladder (acute) K81.0
Clinical ClassificationClinical
AHRQ’s CCSR groups this code into broader clinical categories.
Clinical InformationClinical
Cholecystitis, Acute
acute inflammation of the gallbladder wall. it is characterized by the presence of abdominal pain; fever; and leukocytosis. gallstone obstruction of the cystic duct is present in approximately 90% of the cases.
Patient EducationClinical
Gallbladder Diseases
Your gallbladder is a pear-shaped organ under your liver. It stores bile, a fluid made by your liver to digest fat. As your stomach and intestines digest food, your gallbladder releases bile through a tube called the common bile duct. The duct connects your gallbladder and liver to your small intestine.
Read the full article at MedlinePlus
Courtesy of MedlinePlus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Convert K81.0 to ICD-9-CMHistory
The closest ICD-9-CM equivalents under the General Equivalence Mappings.
Code HistoryHistory
Questions About K81.0Overview
What is the ICD-10 code for acute cholecystitis?
The ICD-10-CM code for acute cholecystitis is K81.0 (sometimes written as K810). It is billable on HIPAA-covered claims from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.
Is K81.0 (Cholecystitis) a billable code?
Yes. This is a billable ICD-10-CM code, specific enough to report acute cholecystitis on HIPAA-covered claims from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.
What MS-DRG does K81.0 group to?
When acute cholecystitis is the principal diagnosis on an inpatient stay, it groups to MS-DRG 444, 445, 446, with relative weights from 0.8121 to 1.6662 depending on complications. Higher weights mean higher Medicare reimbursement.
Is K81.0 a CC or MCC?
CMS lists K81.0 as a CC (complication or comorbidity) for FY 2027. Reported as a secondary diagnosis, it moves the inpatient stay to a higher-weighted DRG within its severity family. It does not count when the principal diagnosis is one of the 14 closely related codes in its exclusion list.
Can K81.0 be reported with a code from K80?
Not as a rule. The Excludes1 note at K81, which applies to K81.0, lists "cholecystitis with cholelithiasis (K80.-)". An Excludes1 note means the excluded code is never reported together with this one; the only exception is when the two conditions are unrelated to each other (Official Guidelines, Section I.A.12.a).
