2027 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code R06.89Other abnormalities of breathing
ICD-10-CM Codes›R00–R99›R00-R09›R06
- Billable — Valid for Submission
- Not Chronic
R06.89 is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for other abnormalities of breathing. It is valid on HIPAA claims for fiscal year 2027 (October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027) and groups to MS-DRG 204. As a symptom code, it should not be used as a principal diagnosis once a related definitive diagnosis has been established. In AHRQ's Clinical Classifications Software (CCSR), this diagnosis falls under Respiratory signs and symptoms.
Code Identity
Code Classification
Approximate SynonymsGuidance
Alternate terms and clinical phrases that map to this code.
- Abnormal respiratory rate
- Abnormal respiratory rhythm
- Accessory respiratory muscles used
- Acute hypoventilation
- Agonal respiration
- Air hunger
- Apneusis
- Ataxic respiration
- Audible inspiration
- Biphasic movement of lower ribs
- Breath holding spell
- Breath holding with temper
- Bubbling respiration
- Cannot blow
- Cannot breathe deeply enough
- Catching breath
- Chest expansion - finding
- Chest expansion reduced
- Chest movement absent
- Chest movement appearance finding
- Chest movement unequal
- Chest wall retraction
- Chronic hypercapnia
- Chronic hypoventilation
- Chronic respiratory insufficiency
- Cluster breathing
- Croupy breathing
- Crowing respiration
- Death rattle
- Decreased respiratory function
- Deep breathing
- Depth of breathing uneven
- Depth of respiration varies
- Diaphragmatic breathing
- Difficulty controlling breathing
- Difficulty expectorating
- Difficulty huffing
- Difficulty taking deep breaths
- Difficulty to clear sputum
- Dissociation of movement of chest wall
- Does not clear sputum
- Does not control breathing
- Does not expectorate
- Does not huff
- Does not take deep breaths
- Excessively deep breathing
- Expiratory grunting
- Finding of movement of trachea
- Finding of respiratory effort
- Finding of respiratory rate
- Finding of route of breathing
- Finding related to ability to clear sputum
- Finding related to ability to control breathing
- Finding related to ability to expectorate
- Finding related to ability to huff
- Finding related to ability to take deep breaths
- Fish-mouthing
- Flared nostrils
- Genetic syndromic childhood obesity
- Glossopharyngeal breathing
- Groaning respiration
- Grunting baby
- Grunting respiration
- Hissing respiration
- Hypercapnia
- Hypercapnia with mixed acid-base disorder
- Hypoventilation
- Impaired gas exchange
- Impaired spontaneous ventilation
- Ineffective airway clearance
- Ineffective breathing pattern
- Intercostal recession
- Interrupted breathing
- Irregular breathing
- Kussmaul's respiration
- Labored breathing
- Lack of respiratory drive
- Left side of chest moves less than right
- Lethal pontocerebellar hypoplasia, hypotonia, respiratory insufficiency syndrome
- Meningitic respiration
- Mixed acid-base balance disorder
- Neonatal hypotonia
- Neonatal muscle tone disorder
- Neonatal neuromuscular disorder
- Noisy respiration
- Obstructive ventilatory defect
- Paradoxic movement of lower ribs
- Paradoxical chest movement
- Paradoxical respiration
- Partial neck breather
- Pleuritic breathing
- Poor respiratory drive
- Primary alveolar hypoventilation
- Prolonged expiration
- Pulmonary hypertension associated with chronic underventilation
- Pulmonary hypertension due to lung disease and/or hypoxia
- Pursed-lip breathing
- Rapid-onset childhood obesity, hypothalamic dysfunction, hypoventilation, autonomic dysregulation syndrome
- Rattling breathing
- Regional ventilation differences
- Respiratory alteration
- Respiratory depression caused by opioid
- Respiratory insufficiency
- Respiratory insufficiency syndrome of newborn
- Restrained respiration
- Right side of chest moves less than left
- Shallow breathing
- Sighing respiration
- Slow respiration
- Slow shallow breathing
- Sobbing respiration
- Sternal recession
- Stertorous breathing
- Stops breathing
- Subcostal recession
- Supraclavicular recession
- Suprasternal recession
- Symmetry of chest movement - finding
- Temper problem
- Thoracic breathing
- Total neck breather
- Trachea moves down on inspiration
- Tracheal breathing
- Unable to breathe
- Unable to clear sputum
- Unable to control breathing
- Unable to expectorate
- Unable to huff
- Unable to take deep breaths
- Unequal ventilation
- Urgent desire to deep breathe
- Ventilatory defect
- Whistling in nose
- Whistling respiration
- Whooping respiration
Instructional NotesGuidance
Instructions from the official ICD-10-CM Tabular List that apply to R06.89: its own notes plus those printed at R06 and Chapter 18. 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.
- Breath-holding (spells)
- Sighing
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.
Notes
General instructions on how these codes are used.
- This chapter includes symptoms, signs, abnormal results of clinical or other investigative procedures, and ill-defined conditions regarding which no diagnosis classifiable elsewhere is recorded.
- Signs and symptoms that point rather definitely to a given diagnosis have been assigned to a category in other chapters of the classification. In general, categories in this chapter include the less well-defined conditions and symptoms that, without the necessary study of the case to establish a final diagnosis, point perhaps equally to two or more diseases or to two or more systems of the body. Practically all categories in the chapter could be designated 'not otherwise specified', 'unknown etiology' or 'transient'. The Alphabetical Index should be consulted to determine which symptoms and signs are to be allocated here and which to other chapters. The residual subcategories, numbered .8, are generally provided for other relevant symptoms that cannot be allocated elsewhere in the classification.
- The conditions and signs or symptoms included in categories R00-R94 consist of:
- (a) cases for which no more specific diagnosis can be made even after all the facts bearing on the case have been investigated;
- (b) signs or symptoms existing at the time of initial encounter that proved to be transient and whose causes could not be determined;
- (c) provisional diagnosis in a patient who failed to return for further investigation or care;
- (d) cases referred elsewhere for investigation or treatment before the diagnosis was made;
- (e) cases in which a more precise diagnosis was not available for any other reason;
- (f) certain symptoms, for which supplementary information is provided, that represent important problems in medical care in their own right.
Source: CMS ICD-10-CM Tabular List. How to read instructional notes.
Referenced in Other NotesGuidance
Instructional notes printed at other codes that name R06.89, its category, or a range that includes it.
Excludes1 1
These codes carry an Excludes1 note naming R06.89: they are not reported together with it, unless the two conditions are unrelated.
- R09.2 Respiratory arrestrespiratory insufficiency (R06.89)
Excludes2 2
These codes carry an Excludes2 note naming R06.89: its condition is not part of those codes, and both may be reported when the patient has both.
Index to Diseases and InjuriesGuidance
Alphabetical index entries that point to this code.
Bradypnea R06.89
holder, child R06.89
holding spell R06.89
Hypercapnia R06.89
Hypoventilation R06.89
breathing R06.89
respiratory R06.89
Narcosis R06.89
insufficient, or poor R06.89
Sighing R06.89
Yawning R06.89
Clinical ClassificationClinical
AHRQ’s CCSR groups this code into broader clinical categories.
Clinical InformationClinical
Hypercapnia
a clinical manifestation of abnormal increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in arterial blood.Hypoventilation
a reduction in the amount of air entering the pulmonary alveoli.
Patient EducationClinical
Breathing Problems
When you're short of breath, it's hard or uncomfortable for you to take in the oxygen your body needs. You may feel as if you're not getting enough air. Sometimes you can have mild breathing problems because of a stuffy nose or intense exercise. But shortness of breath can also be a sign of a serious disease.
Read the full article at MedlinePlus
Courtesy of MedlinePlus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Convert R06.89 to ICD-9-CMHistory
The closest ICD-9-CM equivalents under the General Equivalence Mappings.
Code HistoryHistory
Questions About R06.89Overview
What is the ICD-10 code for other abnormalities of breathing?
The ICD-10-CM code for other abnormalities of breathing is R06.89 (sometimes written as R0689). It is billable on HIPAA-covered claims from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.
Is R06.89 (Other abnormalities of breathing) a billable code?
Yes. This is a billable ICD-10-CM code, specific enough to report other abnormalities of breathing on HIPAA-covered claims from October 1, 2026 through September 30, 2027.
What MS-DRG does R06.89 group to?
When other abnormalities of breathing is the principal diagnosis on an inpatient stay, it groups to MS-DRG 204 (respiratory Signs and Symptoms), which carries a relative weight of 0.8208. Higher weights mean higher Medicare reimbursement.
Can R06.89 be a principal diagnosis?
Use it with care. This is a symptom code, so once a definitive diagnosis explaining the other abnormalities of breathing is established, that condition takes the principal position instead.
Can R06.89 be reported with J80?
Not as a rule. The Excludes1 note at R06, which applies to R06.89, lists "acute respiratory distress syndrome (J80)". 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).
