2026 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code R68.11Excessive crying of infant (baby)

ICD-10-CM Codes›R00–R99›R50-R69›R68

ICD-10-CM R68.11
CMSSource: CMS FY 2026 ICD-10-CM dataset · Effective Oct 1, 2025 – Sep 30, 2026

R68.11 is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for excessive crying of infant (baby). It is valid on HIPAA claims for fiscal year 2026 (October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026) and groups to MS-DRG 947 through 948. The code is restricted by the Medicare Code Editor to pediatric patients (age 0 through 17). 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 Other general signs and symptoms.

Code Identity

ICD-10-CM Code
R68.11
Billable Status
Yes — Valid for Submission
Code Describes
Excessive crying of infant (baby)
Short Description
Excessive crying of infant (baby)
Same as the full description in the CMS dataset.
Parent Code
R68.1
Nonspecific symptoms peculiar to infancy

Code Classification

ChapterR00–R99Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified
SectionR50-R69General symptoms and signs
CategoryR68Other general symptoms and signs
This CodeR68.11Excessive crying of infant (baby)

Code EditsBilling

Medicare Code Editor checks that affect claim validity for R68.11.

Pediatric diagnoses
The Medicare Code Editor detects inconsistencies in pediatric cases by checking a patient's age and any diagnosis on the patient's record. The pediatric code edits apply to patients age range is 0–17 years inclusive (e.g., Reye's syndrome, routine child health exam).

Approximate SynonymsGuidance

Alternate terms and clinical phrases that map to this code.

  • Constantly crying
  • Constantly crying infant
  • Cries easily
  • Crying
  • Crying, excessive
  • Excessive crying of child
  • Excessive crying of infant
  • Excessive crying of newborn

Tabular List NotesGuidance

Coding notes and annotation back-references applicable to this code.

Type 1 Excludes

  • excessive crying of child, adolescent, or adult R45.83

Index to Diseases and InjuriesGuidance

Alphabetical index entries that point to this code.

External Cause of Injuries IndexGuidance

References for this code in the External Cause of Injuries Index.

    • Baby
      • crying constantly
    • Crying(constant) (continuous) (excessive)
      • infant (baby) (newborn)
    • Excess, excessive, excessively
      • crying
        • in infant
    • Infant(s)
      • excessive crying

Clinical ClassificationClinical

AHRQ’s CCSR groups this code into broader clinical categories.

CCSR SYM016
Other general signs and symptoms
Default principal diagnosis: inpatient Yes · outpatient Yes

Clinical InformationClinical

  • Cri-du-Chat Syndrome

    an infantile syndrome characterized by a cat-like cry, failure to thrive, microcephaly, mental retardation, spastic quadriparesis, micro- and retrognathia, glossoptosis, bilateral epicanthus, hypertelorism, and tiny external genitalia. it is caused by a deletion of the short arm of chromosome 5 (5p-).

  • Crying

    to utter an inarticulate, characteristic sound in order to communicate or express a feeling, or desire for attention.

Patient EducationClinical

Common Infant and Newborn Problems

It is hard when your baby is sick. Common health problems in babies include colds, coughs, fevers, and vomiting. Babies also commonly have skin problems, like diaper rash or cradle cap.

Read the full article at MedlinePlus

Courtesy of MedlinePlus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Convert R68.11 to ICD-9-CMHistory

The closest ICD-9-CM equivalents under the General Equivalence Mappings.

ICD-9-CM
780.92 Excess cry infant/baby
Exact Match The mapping is direct, with no qualifiers.

Code HistoryHistory

FY 2016AddedAdded to the ICD-10-CM code setEffective October 1, 2015, the first year of ICD-10-CM.
FY 2017–2025No changes
FY 2026CurrentCurrent code set, no changesEffective October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026.

Questions About R68.11Overview

Is R68.11 (Nonspecific symptoms peculiar to infancy) a billable code?

Yes. This is a billable ICD-10-CM code, specific enough to report excessive crying of infant (baby) on HIPAA-covered claims from October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026.

What MS-DRG does R68.11 group to?

When excessive crying of infant (baby) is the principal diagnosis on an inpatient stay, it groups to MS-DRG 947, 948, with relative weights from 0.8005 to 1.2694 depending on complications. Higher weights mean higher Medicare reimbursement.

Can R68.11 be a principal diagnosis?

Use it with care. This is a symptom code, so once a definitive diagnosis explaining the excessive crying of infant (baby) is established, that condition takes the principal position instead.

Who can R68.11 be reported for?

The Medicare Code Editor checks excessive crying of infant (baby) against patient demographics: this code is intended for pediatric patients (age 0 through 17). Claims outside these limits are flagged as inconsistent.

What is the ICD-9 equivalent of R68.11?

Under the General Equivalence Mappings, excessive crying of infant (baby) converts to ICD-9-CM 780.92 (excess cry infant/baby). The mapping is a direct match.

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.