What is Chapter 03 of ICD-11?
The Chapter 03 gathers the diseases of the blood or hematopoietic organs. In ICD-10, these conditions shared a chapter with certain disorders of the immune mechanism, but in ICD-11 they were separated into two different chapters: chapter 03 for blood and hematopoietic organs, and the chapter 04 for immune system disorders.
The official guide summarizes this reorganization as a shift towards a more clinic and also more etiological of blood diseases. Anemias come to be grouped together under one large group, coagulation defects and hemorrhagic conditions form another distinct section, and diseases of the spleen remain as the third major section.
Structure of chapter 03
According to the WHO Reference Guide, chapter 03 has three main sections:
- Anemias and other red blood cell disorders
- Coagulation defects, purpura, or other hemorrhagic or related conditions
- Spleen diseases
The first two main sections follow a similar hierarchy:
| Level | Description |
|---|---|
| 1st level | Anemias and coagulation disorders |
| 2nd level | Broad categories of disease or type of disorder |
| 3rd level | Congenital or acquired |
| 4th level | Greater specificity of the type of disease or disorder |
The third major section, that of spleen diseases, follow this hierarchy:
| Level | Description |
|---|---|
| 1st level | Spleen diseases |
| 2nd level | Congenital vs. acquired |
| 3rd level | Specific disease or type of disorder |
Big blocks of Chapter 03
Click on each block to see a brief explanation of how the section is organized within ICD-11.
This is the large hematological grouping of the chapter. The guide highlights that here the nutritional anemias, the hemolytic anemias and the aplastic anemias and other anemias, which in the ICD-10 were separated into several different blocks.
| Regrouping from ICD-10 | Fate in ICD-11 |
|---|---|
| D50–D53 Nutritional anemias | Part of “Anemias and other erythrocyte disorders” |
| D55–D59 Hemolytic anemias | Part of “Anemias and other erythrocyte disorders” |
| D60–D64 Aplastic anemias and other anemias | Part of “Anemias and other erythrocyte disorders” |
The ICD-11 concentrates in this section the coagulation defects, the purple and other hemorrhagic or bleeding-related conditions. Compared to the ICD-10, this section groups together concepts that were previously distributed in blocks D65–D69.
| ICD-10 block | Equivalent structure in ICD-11 |
|---|---|
| D65–D69 Coagulation defects, purpura, and other hemorrhagic conditions | Coagulation defects, purpura, and other hemorrhagic and related conditions |
The third large section of chapter 03 is dedicated to the spleen diseases. The WHO organizes them first by distinguishing conditions congenital of the acquired, and then by specific type of disease or disorder.
In addition, several concepts that in ICD-10 were within “other diseases of the blood and hematopoietic organs” are redistributed in ICD-11 between the groupings of anemias, coagulation/hemorrhage or diseases of the spleen.
Comparison ICD-10 vs ICD-11 — Chapter 03
The WHO summarizes the transition from the previous structure to the new one:
| ICD-10 blocks | Equivalent structure of ICD-11 |
|---|---|
| D50–D53 Nutritional anemias | Part of the group “Anemias and other erythrocyte disorders” |
| D55–D59 Hemolytic anemias | Part of the group “Anemias and other erythrocyte disorders” |
| D60–D64 Aplastic anemias and other anemias | Part of the group “Anemias and other erythrocyte disorders” |
| D65–D69 Coagulation defects, purpura, and other hemorrhagic conditions | Coagulation defects, purpura, and other hemorrhagic and related conditions |
| D70–D77 Other diseases of the blood and hematopoietic organs | Concepts redistributed between erythrocytes, coagulation/hemorrhage or diseases of the spleen |
| D80–D89 Certain disorders of the immune mechanism | Go to chapter 04 “Diseases of the immune system” |
Reading and coding guidance
1. Look at the big section first
Before looking for a specific diagnosis, it is advisable to locate the condition within one of the three main sections: erythrocytes, coagulation/hemorrhage or spleen.
2. Distinguish congenital vs acquired
The guide notes that, especially in the first two sections, the hierarchy includes a level to differentiate between conditions congenital and acquired.
3. Do not mix with neoplasms or immunity
The hematopoietic or lymphoid neoplasms are not sought here as a main rule, but in the chapter 02. Likewise, the immune system disorders they moved to chapter 04.