2026 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code J02.0
Streptococcal pharyngitis
- ICD-10-CM Code:
- J02.0
- ICD-10 Code for:
- Streptococcal pharyngitis
- Is Billable?
- Yes - Valid for Submission
- Chronic Condition Indicator: [1]
- Not chronic
- Code Navigator:
J02.0 is a billable diagnosis code used to specify a medical diagnosis of streptococcal pharyngitis. The code is valid during the current fiscal year for the submission of HIPAA-covered transactions from October 01, 2025 through September 30, 2026.
This medical diagnosis code is frequently used in Pediatrics medical specialties to designate conditions such acute pharyngitis.
Approximate Synonyms
The following list of clinical terms are approximate synonyms, alternative descriptions, or common phrases that might be used by patients, healthcare providers, or medical coders to describe the same condition. These synonyms and related diagnosis terms are often used when searching for an ICD-10 code, especially when the exact medical terminology is unclear. Whether you're looking for lay terms, similar diagnosis names, or common language alternatives, this list can help guide you to the correct ICD-10 classification.
- Acute bacterial pharyngitis
- Acute bacterial pharyngitis
- Acute pneumococcal pharyngitis
- Acute streptococcal pharyngitis
- Pharyngitis caused by Streptococcus pyogenes
- Pneumococcal pharyngitis
- Streptococcal sore throat
- Streptococcus pyogenes infection
Clinical Classification
Clinical Classifications group individual ICD-10-CM diagnosis codes into broader, clinically meaningful categories. These categories help simplify complex data by organizing related conditions under common clinical themes.
They are especially useful for data analysis, reporting, and clinical decision-making. Even when diagnosis codes differ, similar conditions can be grouped together based on their clinical relevance. Each category is assigned a unique CCSR code that represents a specific clinical concept, often tied to a body system or medical specialty.
Bacterial infections
CCSR Code: INF003
Inpatient Default: N - Not default inpatient assignment for principal diagnosis or first-listed diagnosis.
Outpatient Default: N - Not default outpatient assignment for principal diagnosis or first-listed diagnosis.
Other specified upper respiratory infections
CCSR Code: RSP006
Inpatient Default: Y - Yes, default inpatient assignment for principal diagnosis or first-listed diagnosis.
Outpatient Default: Y - Yes, default outpatient assignment for principal diagnosis or first-listed diagnosis.
Clinical Information
Acute Pharyngitis
an acute and painful inflammatory process that affects the pharynx. it is usually caused by viruses and less often bacteria. signs and symptoms include discomfort on swallowing, low-grade fever, headache, and earache.
Tabular List of Diseases and Injuries
The following annotation back-references are applicable to this diagnosis code. The Tabular List of Diseases and Injuries is a list of ICD-10-CM codes, organized "head to toe" into chapters and sections with coding notes and guidance for inclusions, exclusions, descriptions and more.
Inclusion Terms
Inclusion TermsThese terms are the conditions for which that code is to be used. The terms may be synonyms of the code title, or, in the case of "other specified" codes, the terms are a list of the various conditions assigned to that code. The inclusion terms are not necessarily exhaustive. Additional terms found only in the Alphabetic Index may also be assigned to a code.
- Septic pharyngitis
- Streptococcal sore throat
Type 2 Excludes
Type 2 ExcludesA type 2 excludes note represents "Not included here". An excludes2 note indicates that the condition excluded is not part of the condition represented by the code, but a patient may have both conditions at the same time. When an Excludes2 note appears under a code, it is acceptable to use both the code and the excluded code together, when appropriate.
- scarlet fever A38
Index to Diseases and Injuries References
The following annotation back-references for this diagnosis code are found in the injuries and diseases index. The Index to Diseases and Injuries is an alphabetical listing of medical terms, with each term mapped to one or more ICD-10-CM code(s).
- Disease, diseased - See Also: Syndrome;
- Septic - See: condition;
- sore - See Also: Abscess;
- throat - J02.0
- streptococcal - J02.0
- Sore
- throat (acute) - See Also: Pharyngitis;
- septic - J02.0
- streptococcal (ulcerative) - J02.0
Index of External Cause of Injuries
References found for this diagnosis code in the External Cause of Injuries Index:
- Disease, diseased
- throat
- septic
- Pharyngitis(acute) (catarrhal)(gangrenous) (infective) (malignant) (membranous) (phlegmonous) (pseudomembranous) (simple) (subacute) (suppurative) (ulcerative) (viral)
- septic
- Pharyngitis(acute) (catarrhal)(gangrenous) (infective) (malignant) (membranous) (phlegmonous) (pseudomembranous) (simple) (subacute) (suppurative) (ulcerative) (viral)
- streptococcal
- Septic
- sore
- throat
- Septic
- sore
- throat
- streptococcal
- Sore
- throat (acute)
- septic
- Sore
- throat (acute)
- streptococcal (ulcerative)
- Ulcer, ulcerated, ulcerating, ulceration, ulcerative
- sore throat
- streptococcal
Convert J02.0 to ICD-9-CM
Below are the ICD-9 codes that most closely match this ICD-10 code, based on the General Equivalence Mappings (GEMs). This ICD-10 to ICD-9 crosswalk tool is helpful for coders who need to reference legacy diagnosis codes for audits, historical claims, or approximate code comparisons.
Strep sore throat
ICD-9-CM: 034.0
Approximate Flag - The approximate mapping means this ICD-10 code does not have an exact ICD-9 equivalent. The matched code is the closest available option, but it may not fully capture the original diagnosis or clinical intent.
Patient Education
Sore Throat
Your throat is a tube that carries food to your esophagus and air to your windpipe and larynx (also called the voice box). The technical name for the throat is pharynx.
You can have a sore throat for many reasons. Often, colds and flu cause sore throats. Other causes can include:
- Allergies
- Mononucleosis
- Smoking
- Strep throat
- Tonsillitis
Treatment depends on the cause. Sucking on lozenges, drinking lots of liquids, and gargling may ease the pain. Over-the-counter pain relievers can also help, but children should not take aspirin.
[Learn More in MedlinePlus]
Streptococcal Infections
Strep is short for Streptococcus, a type of bacteria. There are several types. Two of them cause most of the strep infections in people: group A and group B.
Group A strep causes:
- Strep throat - a sore, red throat. Your tonsils may be swollen and have white spots on them.
- Scarlet fever - an illness that follows strep throat. It causes a red rash on the body.
- Impetigo - a skin infection
- Toxic shock syndrome
- Cellulitis and necrotizing fasciitis (flesh-eating disease)
Group B strep can cause blood infections, pneumonia and meningitis in newborns. A screening test during pregnancy can tell if you have it. If you do, intravenous (IV) antibiotics during labor can save your baby's life. Adults can also get group B strep infections, especially if they are 65 or older or already have health problems. Strep B can cause urinary tract infections, blood infections, skin infections and pneumonia in adults.
Antibiotics are used to treat strep infections.
[Learn More in MedlinePlus]
Code History
- FY 2026 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2025 through 9/30/2026
- FY 2025 - No Change, effective from 10/1/2024 through 9/30/2025
- 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.
