2025 ICD-10-CM code O02.1
(Active) Effective Date: N/A Pregnancy with abortive outcome - Missed abortion Chapter 15: Pregnancy, childbirth and the puerperium Feed
Missed abortion. Early fetal death, before completion of 20 weeks of gestation, with retention of dead fetus.
Medical necessity for treatment of a missed abortion is established by the diagnosis itself, as it represents a nonviable pregnancy that requires intervention to prevent complications such as infection or disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC).
The clinician is responsible for confirming the diagnosis of missed abortion through clinical examination, ultrasound, and possibly hCG levels.Management options, including expectant management, medical management, or surgical management, should be discussed with the patient, taking into account her preferences and clinical circumstances.
In simple words: A missed abortion is when the fetus dies in the womb before 20 weeks of pregnancy but doesn't leave the mother's body.
Missed abortion is the death of a fetus before 20 weeks of gestation, with retention of the dead fetus in the uterus. It is a type of spontaneous abortion, where the pregnancy is no longer developing normally, and the products of conception are not expelled.This differs from a complete abortion, where all products of conception are expelled, and an incomplete abortion, where some products of conception remain in the uterus.
Example 1: A woman at 10 weeks of gestation presents with light vaginal bleeding.An ultrasound reveals no fetal heartbeat.The diagnosis is missed abortion., A woman at 15 weeks of gestation has not felt fetal movement.An ultrasound confirms fetal demise and a diagnosis of missed abortion., A woman presents for a routine first-trimester ultrasound, and an empty gestational sac is found with no fetal pole. The crown-rump length is more than 16 mm without cardiac activity and the fetal pole is greater than 4 mm.This is consistent with a missed abortion.
Documentation should include ultrasound findings confirming fetal demise, gestational age,any associated complications (e.g., bleeding, infection), and the management plan.
** A missed abortion is distinct from a stillbirth, which is defined as fetal death after 20 weeks of gestation.It is also different from a blighted ovum (anembryonic pregnancy), although a missed abortion can present as a blighted ovum. Distinguish between missed abortion from other types of abortions including complete abortion (all products of conception expelled), incomplete abortion (some products of conception remain), inevitable abortion (cervical dilation and bleeding but no expulsion), threatened abortion (vaginal bleeding during pregnancy), and induced abortion. A missed abortion is sometimes referred to as a silent miscarriage.
- Specialties:Obstetrics and Gynecology
- Place of Service:Office, Outpatient Hospital, Inpatient Hospital