Chest pain on breathing

This code signifies pleuritic chest pain, which is sharp, stabbing, or burning pain in the chest that worsens with inspiration, coughing, or sneezing. It often indicates irritation or inflammation of the pleura, the lining surrounding the lungs. This symptom can be associated with various underlying pulmonary or cardiac conditions.

Assign this code when documentation explicitly states "chest pain on breathing," "pleuritic chest pain," or similar phrasing without a more specific definitive diagnosis for the cause of the pain. It is appropriate when the physician has not yet determined the etiology or when the pain on breathing is the primary symptom being addressed.

• Do not use this code if a definitive diagnosis explaining the pleuritic pain (e.g., pleurisy, pneumonia, pulmonary embolism) is documented.
• Consider sequencing this code as a primary diagnosis when the chest pain on breathing is the chief complaint and the reason for the encounter.
• Distinguish from other chest pain codes (e.g., R07.4, R07.9) which do not specify a relationship to respiration.