BTSC Staff Nurse 1 August-2025
Obstetrics & Gynaecology
Easy
What is the type of abortion wherein the fetus is dead but retained inside the uterus for a variable period?
Appeared in: BTSC Staff Nurse 1 August-2025
Explanation
- Missed abortion is defined as fetal death in utero without the spontaneous expulsion of the embryo or fetus.
- In this condition, the cervix typically remains closed, and the woman may be asymptomatic for a period.
- The term signifies that the body has 'missed' the event of fetal death, and the process of abortion has not yet initiated.
- Diagnosis is confirmed by ultrasound showing an absence of fetal cardiac activity in an embryo or fetus of a certain size.
Why Other Options Were Wrong
- Option A: In an incomplete abortion, some of the products of conception have been expelled, but some tissue remains in the uterus. This contrasts with a missed abortion where no tissue has been expelled.
- Option B: An inevitable abortion is characterized by vaginal bleeding and cervical dilation, indicating that a miscarriage is in progress and cannot be prevented. The key feature is the active process of expulsion, not retention.
- Option D: A complete abortion occurs when all the products of conception have been expelled from the uterus. The uterus is empty, the cervix is closed, and bleeding has subsided.
Related Visual
Clinical Relevance
- Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Types of spontaneous abortion as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
- Nurses must monitor patients with a missed abortion for signs of complications like infection (fever, foul-smelling discharge) and coagulopathies such as Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation (DIC), which can occur if the dead tissue is retained for a prolonged period.
- Providing emotional support, grief counseling, and clear information about management options (expectant, medical, or surgical) is a crucial nursing role.
- What if? If the patient with a missed abortion develops a fever, uterine tenderness, and purulent discharge, the diagnosis would change to a septic abortion, which is a medical emergency requiring immediate IV antibiotics and uterine evacuation.
How to Approach the Question
- This is a factual recall question that tests your knowledge of specific medical terminology related to obstetrics.
- First, carefully read the question stem and identify the key defining features: 1) the fetus is dead, and 2) the fetus is retained inside the uterus.
- Next, systematically evaluate each option against these two criteria.
- Recall the definition of each type of abortion: 'Incomplete' implies partial expulsion, 'Inevitable' means expulsion is about to happen, and 'Complete' signifies full expulsion.
- The term 'Missed' correctly describes the scenario where the body has not yet initiated the process of expulsion despite fetal demise, matching the question's description.
Concept Tested & Keywords
- Concept Tested: Types of spontaneous abortion
- Stem keywords: abortion, fetus is dead, retained inside uterus
- Lead-in keywords: What is the type
- Negative lead-in flag: false
Question ID
QTRd-NJltePCoyaTL_kCqm
Reference Book
E6 Robert Boland, Marcia L. Verduin - Kaplan and Sadock's Comprehensive Text of Psychiatry-Wolters Kluwer Health (2024) (pp 1-16525 of 16525) p. 8397-8399
E6 Gynecology Williams p. 152-181
E6 Obstetrics Williams p. 3
Practise the full BTSC Staff Nurse 1 August-2025
Attempt every question from this paper in a timed mock, then review the full solution for each one.
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