Drug-induced autoimmune hemolytic anemia

This code represents a type of autoimmune hemolytic anemia where the body's immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys its own red blood cells, specifically triggered by the administration of a medication. This destruction leads to a decrease in red blood cell count, resulting in anemia. The immune response is drug-induced, meaning the medication acts as a hapten or alters red blood cell antigens, leading to antibody formation.

Apply this code when documentation clearly indicates hemolytic anemia caused by an autoimmune reaction directly attributable to a specific drug. This diagnosis is typically supported by laboratory findings of hemolysis (e.g., elevated LDH, decreased haptoglobin, positive direct antiglobulin test) and a temporal relationship between drug exposure and anemia onset, with resolution upon drug withdrawal.

• Always identify the specific drug causing the adverse effect using an external cause code (T36-T50 with 5th or 6th character indicating adverse effect).
• Do not confuse with other forms of hemolytic anemia (e.g., hereditary, non-drug induced autoimmune) or aplastic anemia.
• Ensure documentation specifies "autoimmune" and "drug-induced" to differentiate from other hemolytic anemias.