2026 ICD-10-CM Diagnosis Code R71.8Other abnormality of red blood cells

ICD-10-CM Codes›R00–R99›R70-R79›R71

ICD-10-CM R71.8
CMSSource: CMS FY 2026 ICD-10-CM dataset · Effective Oct 1, 2025 – Sep 30, 2026

R71.8 is a billable ICD-10-CM diagnosis code for other abnormality of red blood cells. It is valid on HIPAA claims for fiscal year 2026 (October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026) and groups to MS-DRG 811 through 812. 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 Abnormal findings without diagnosis.

Code Identity

ICD-10-CM Code
R71.8
Billable Status
Yes — Valid for Submission
Code Describes
Other abnormality of red blood cells
Short Description
Other abnormality of red blood cells
Same as the full description in the CMS dataset.
Parent Code
R71
Abnormality of red blood cells

Code Classification

ChapterR00–R99Symptoms, signs and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings, not elsewhere classified
SectionR70-R79Abnormal findings on examination of blood, without diagnosis
CategoryR71Abnormality of red blood cells
This CodeR71.8Other abnormality of red blood cells

Approximate SynonymsGuidance

Alternate terms and clinical phrases that map to this code.

  • Abnormal erythrocyte destruction
  • Abnormal erythrocyte production
  • Abnormal red blood cell volume
  • Alteration of hemoglobin concentration
  • Anisocytosis, red cells
  • Ascorbate-cyanide detected by screening
  • Auto-agglutination of red blood cell
  • Babesia red blood cell inclusion
  • Basophilic stippling
  • Blister cells
  • Burr cells present
  • Cabot's ring bodies
  • Carboxyhemoglobin above reference range
  • Carboxyhemoglobin below reference range
  • Color index level - finding
  • Dacrocytosis
  • Decreased blood erythrocyte volume
  • Decreased erythrocyte destruction
  • Decreased erythrocyte life span
  • Decreased erythrocyte production
  • Decreased heme-heme interaction
  • Decreased osmotic fragility
  • Dimorphic red blood cell population
  • Dyserythropoiesis
  • Eccentrocytosis
  • Erythrocyte aggregation
  • Erythrocyte color index above reference range
  • Erythrocyte color index below reference range
  • Erythrocyte life span finding
  • Erythrocyte membrane abnormality
  • Erythrocyte sedimentation rate - finding
  • Erythrocyte sedimentation rate below reference range
  • Erythrocyte sedimentation rate outside reference range
  • Erythrocyte sequestration
  • Erythrocytic maturation arrest
  • Erythrophagocytosis
  • Extramedullary erythropoiesis
  • Extramedullary hematopoiesis
  • Extravascular hemolysis
  • Finding of red blood cell staining
  • Folic acid above reference range
  • Folic acid below reference range
  • Heinz bodies
  • Hematocrit - PCV level - finding
  • Hematocrit above reference range
  • Hematocrit outside reference range
  • Hemoglobin above reference range
  • Hemoglobin C crystals
  • Hemoglobin H inclusions
  • Hemoglobin level outside reference range
  • Hemoglobin SC crystals
  • Hemolysis
  • Hereditary elliptocytosis
  • Hereditary elliptocytosis due to abnormal protein 4.1
  • Hereditary elliptocytosis due to alpha spectrin defect
  • Hereditary elliptocytosis due to beta spectrin defect in self-association
  • Hereditary elliptocytosis due to beta spectrin-ankyrin interaction
  • Hereditary elliptocytosis due to deficiency of protein 4.1
  • Hereditary elliptocytosis due to glycophorin C deficiency
  • Hereditary elliptocytosis with transient poikilocytosis
  • Hereditary spherocytosis
  • Hereditary spherocytosis due to beta spectrin defect
  • Hereditary spherocytosis due to combined deficiency of spectrin AND ankyrin
  • Hereditary spherocytosis due to deficiency of protein 4.2
  • Hereditary spherocytosis due to spectrin deficiency
  • Howell Jolly bodies
  • Hypochromic red blood cells
  • Increased blood erythrocyte volume
  • Increased erythrocyte destruction
  • Increased erythrocyte ghost cells in blood
  • Increased erythrocyte production
  • Increased heme-heme interaction
  • Increased osmotic fragility
  • Ineffective erythropoiesis
  • Intravascular hemolysis
  • Leptocytosis
  • Malarial red blood cell inclusion
  • Mean cell hemoglobin concentration - finding
  • Mean cell hemoglobin level - finding
  • Mean corpuscular hemoglobin above reference range
  • Mean corpuscular hemoglobin below reference range
  • Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration above reference range
  • Mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration below reference range
  • Mean corpuscular hemoglobin outside reference range
  • Mean corpuscular volume above reference range
  • Mean corpuscular volume below reference range
  • Megaloblastoid erythropoiesis
  • Methemoglobin above reference range
  • Methemoglobin below reference range
  • Microcytosis
  • Microspherocytes seen
  • Mild hereditary spherocytosis due to combined deficiency of spectrin AND ankyrin
  • Mild hereditary spherocytosis due to spectrin deficiency
  • Pappenheimer bodies
  • Plasmodium macrogametocyte in red cell
  • Plasmodium malariae gametocyte in red cell
  • Plasmodium merozoite in red cell
  • Plasmodium microgametocyte in red cell
  • Poikilocytosis
  • Polychromatic red blood cells
  • Post-artesunate delayed hemolysis
  • Presence of hemoglobin alpha-chain variant
  • Presence of hemoglobin delta chain variant
  • Presence of unidentified hemoglobin variant
  • Puddle cells
  • Pyknocytosis
  • RBC enzymes abnormal
  • RBC's - megaloblasts
  • Red blood cell agglutination
  • Red blood cell color - finding
  • Red blood cell count above reference range
  • Red blood cell count below reference range
  • Red blood cell count outside reference range
  • Red blood cell folate above reference range
  • Red blood cell folate below reference range
  • Red blood cell inclusions
  • Red blood cell maturation age - finding
  • Red blood cell morphology abnormal
  • Red blood cell population finding
  • Red blood cell size - finding
  • Red cell folate outside reference range
  • Reticulocyte count outside reference range
  • Ringed sideroblast
  • Rouleaux
  • Schistocytosis
  • Sensitized cell
  • Sensitized red cell
  • Severe hereditary spherocytosis due to combined deficiency of spectrin AND ankyrin
  • Severe hereditary spherocytosis due to spectrin deficiency
  • Sickling test positive
  • Siderocytophagocytosis
  • Sputnik cells
  • Sugar-water test positive
  • Sulfhemoglobin above reference range
  • Sulfhemoglobin below reference range
  • Total iron binding capacity below reference range

Tabular List NotesGuidance

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

Inclusion Terms

  • Abnormal red-cell morphology NOS
  • Abnormal red-cell volume NOS
  • Anisocytosis
  • Poikilocytosis

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.

    • Abnormal, abnormality, abnormalities
      • red blood cell (s) (morphology) (volume)
    • Anisocytosis
    • Findings, abnormal, inconclusive, without diagnosis
      • anisocytosis
    • Findings, abnormal, inconclusive, without diagnosis
      • poikilocytosis
    • Findings, abnormal, inconclusive, without diagnosis
      • red blood cell (count) (morphology) (sickling) (volume)
    • Poikilocytosis

Clinical ClassificationClinical

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

CCSR SYM017
Abnormal findings without diagnosis
Default principal diagnosis: inpatient Yes · outpatient Yes

Clinical InformationClinical

  • Heinz Bodies

    abnormal intracellular inclusions, composed of denatured hemoglobin, found on the membrane of red blood cells. they are seen in thalassemias, enzymopathies, hemoglobinopathies, and after splenectomy.

  • Erythrocyte Aggregation

    the formation of clumps of red blood cells under low or non-flow conditions, resulting from the attraction forces between the red blood cells. the cells adhere to each other in rouleaux aggregates. slight mechanical force, such as occurs in the circulation, is enough to disperse these aggregates. stronger or weaker than normal aggregation may result from a variety of effects in the erythrocyte membrane or in blood plasma. the degree of aggregation is affected by erythrocyte deformability, erythrocyte membrane sialylation, masking of negative surface charge by plasma proteins, etc. blood viscosity and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate are affected by the amount of erythrocyte aggregation and are parameters used to measure the aggregation.

  • HELLP Syndrome

    a syndrome of hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low blood platelets count (thrombocytopenia). hellp syndrome is observed in pregnant people with pre-eclampsia or eclampsia who also exhibit liver damage and abnormalities in blood coagulation.

  • Hemolysis

    the destruction of erythrocytes by many different causal agents such as antibodies, bacteria, chemicals, temperature, and changes in tonicity.

  • Erythrocytes

    red blood cells. mature erythrocytes are non-nucleated, biconcave disks containing hemoglobin whose function is to transport oxygen.

  • Anisopoikilocytosis

    a test result indicating the presence of red cells of various sizes and shapes in the peripheral blood.

  • Hereditary Pyropoikilocytosis

    an autosomal recessive inherited severe hemolytic anemia. it is a subtype of hereditary elliptocytosis and is characterized by partial spectrin deficiency.

  • Mild to Moderate Anisopoikilocytosis

    a test result indicating a mild to moderate degree of anisopoikilocytosis in the peripheral blood.

  • Poikilocytosis

    an increase in the number of abnormally shaped red blood cells.

  • Hereditary Spherocytosis

    an autosomal dominant inherited disorder characterized by the presence of smaller than normal, sphere-shaped erythrocytes. it results in hemolytic anemia and splenomegaly.

  • Dyserythropoiesis

    a defect in the development of red blood cells.

Patient EducationClinical

Blood

Your blood is made up of liquid and solids. The liquid part, called plasma, is made of water, salts, and protein. Over half of your blood is plasma. The solid part of your blood contains red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.

Read the full article at MedlinePlus

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

Convert R71.8 to ICD-9-CMHistory

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

ICD-9-CM
790.09 Abnormal RBC NEC
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 R71.8Overview

Is R71.8 (Abnormality of red blood cells) a billable code?

Yes. This is a billable ICD-10-CM code, specific enough to report other abnormality of red blood cells on HIPAA-covered claims from October 1, 2025 through September 30, 2026.

What MS-DRG does R71.8 group to?

When other abnormality of red blood cells is the principal diagnosis on an inpatient stay, it groups to MS-DRG 811, 812, with relative weights from 0.9182 to 1.4043 depending on complications. Higher weights mean higher Medicare reimbursement.

Can R71.8 be a principal diagnosis?

Use it with care. This is a symptom code, so once a definitive diagnosis explaining the other abnormality of red blood cells is established, that condition takes the principal position instead.

What is the ICD-9 equivalent of R71.8?

Under the General Equivalence Mappings, other abnormality of red blood cells converts to ICD-9-CM 790.09 (abnormal RBC NEC). 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.