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Waled AM Ahmed,1,2 Amna Eltom Hajo Elsheikh Abdelrahman,3 Amal Abdelgadir Mohamed,4 Ibrahim Osman Mohammed,5 Amna Mohammed Ali Mustafa,6 Zeinab Eltayeb Elfaki Ahmed,7 Maab Mutaz Tagelsir Mohamed,8 Fahad Abdullah A Alghamdi,9 Amira EE Elbashir,10 Sameer Alkubati,11 Akram Al-Sowaidi,12 Neimat MAA Dinar,13 Abdalkhaliq Ahmed Obadi,1 Khalil A Saleh14 1Community Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Saeeda University, Sanaa, Yemen; 2Community Health Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, Al-Baha University, Al-Baha, Saudi Arabia; 3Clinical Pharmacy Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Omdurman Islamic University, Khartoum, Sudan; 4Department of Maternity and Childhood Nursing, College of Nursing, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia; 5Clinical Pharmacy Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Gazeira University, Gazeira, Sudan; 6Department of Nursing, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Jazan University, Jazan, Saudi Arabia; 7Obstetrics and Gynecology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Alzaeim Alazhari University, Khartoum, Sudan; 8Clinical Pharmacy Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Medical Sciences and Technology, Khartoum, Sudan; 9Geriatric Care Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, Al-Baha University, Al-Baha, Saudi Arabia; 10Maternal and Child Health Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, Al-Baha University, Al-Baha, Saudi Arabia; 11Department of Medical Surgical Nursing, College of Nursing, University of Ha’il, Hail City, Saudi Arabia, and Department of Nursing, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Hodeida University, Hodeida, Yemen; 12Pharmacy Department, Faculty of Medical Sciences, Al Janad University for Science & Technology, Taiz, Yemen; 13Medical-Surgical Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, Al-Baha University, Al-Baha, Saudi Arabia; 14Department of Medical Surgical, College of Nursing, University of Ha’il, Hail, Saudi ArabiaCorrespondence: Waled AM Ahmed, Community Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Saeeda University, Sanaa, Yemen. Community Health Nursing Department, Faculty of Nursing, Al-Baha University, Sanaa, Yemen, Tel +00966508245369, Email waled-ahmed@su-edu.netObjective: Errors in the preparation and administration of intravenous medications are significant contributors to morbidity and mortality rates in medical practice. Early reporting and the implementation of preventive measures can mitigate these errors. This study aims to identify patterns and frequencies of errors in IV medication preparation and administration, along with associated factors, at Omdurman Military Hospital in Khartoum, Sudan.Methods: This observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in the emergency department of Omdurman Military Hospital from January to May 2022. We observed 60 nurses responsible for intravenous drug preparation and administration using a pretested questionnaire and checklist on multiple occasions. The data was analyzed by SPSS and the descriptive and inferential statistics were applied.Results: Our findings reveal that 98% of the nurses reported a lack of formal training in IV drug preparation and administration. The observed preparation area was characterized as untidy in 59.6% of observations, and 52.5% were conducted in crowded environments. We identified six distinct types of errors during drug preparation, with the most common being the absence of aseptic techniques (63.2%) and the failure to check drug expiry dates before administration (99%). In contrast, five types of administration errors were reported, with the most prevalent being incorrect administration rates (68.7%) and the absence of post-administration side-effect assessments (84.8%). Additionally, 83.3% of nurses did not label the unused portion of a drug intended for the next dose.Conclusion: This study identifies a total of 11 different types of errors in IV drug preparation and administration, some of which are associated with the hospital’s work environment. The lack of formal training among 98% of the nurses stands out as a significant contributor to the increasing frequency of these errors.Keywords: medications errors, preparation, administration, intravenous, emergency

The current study investigated the effectiveness of the chemical weathering conditions of the outcrop sections of the Silurian Qusaiba Formation in the Tayma area of Northwestern Saudi Arabia, and their implications for the oxidation and leaching of organic matter within the shale units. The shale units' organic matter characteristics, mineralogy, and elemental geochemistry were studied using total organic carbon (TOC) content, Rock-Eval pyrolysis, X-ray diffraction, and X-ray fluorescence spectrometer methods. The analyzed Qusaiba shale units have moderate to high TOC and sulfur contents in the range of 0.64-1.46 wt % and 0.59-4.64 wt %, respectively, resulting in S/TOC ratio between 0.56 and 3.94 and indicates the marine environment for the studied Qusaiba shale units. The analyzed Qusaiba shale samples have intensive chemical weathering in the source area, as demonstrated by the comparatively high kaolinite, illite, and chlorite clay minerals of up to 60 wt %. The strong weathering of silicates (primarily K-feldspars) and the degradation of the mica in warm, humid climate conditions are confirmed by the high values of the chemical index of alteration (CIA), plagioclase index of alteration, and chemical index of weathering in the range of 72.63-78.62%, 92.72-99.53%, and 95.15-99.69%, respectively. Therefore, the chemical weathering has strongly affected the concentration of organic matter content in the Qusaiba shale units and its petroleum generation potential, as implied by the high amounts of oxygenation organic matter (Type IV) and the low hydrogen index values of up to 50 mg of hydrocarbon (HC)/g of TOC. The oxygenation condition of the outcrop sections was confirmed by the high oxygen index values of up to 242 mg carbon dioxide (CO 2 )/g TOC and low values of relative hydrocarbon index in the range of 0.09-0.58 mg HC/g TOC. Based on the results highlighted in this study, the weathering conditions of the outcrop sections during the mid-Carboniferous Hercynian deformation erosion event strongly affected the organic matter in the Silurian Qusaiba shale units, which were oxidized and leached. Thus, their characteristics are not suitable for the HC generation potential., Competing Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interest., (© 2025 The Authors. Published by American Chemical Society.)

Neuromuscular diseases (NMD) are a group of neurological diseases that manifest with various clinical symptoms affecting different components of the peripheral nervous system, which play a role in voluntary body movements control. The primary objective of this study is to explore the diagnostic efficacy of a combined genetic and biochemical testing approach for patients with neuromuscular diseases with diverse presentations in a population with high rate of consanguinity. Genetic testing was performed using selected Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) gene panels and whole exome sequencing on the peripheral blood sample from the patients. The study results revealed that the majority of patients in our cohort had a history of consanguinity (83%). Genetic testing through gene panels and Whole Exome Sequencing yielded similar result. Out of the patients tested, 66% underwent gene panels testing, 56% had Whole Exome Sequencing, 32% received array Comparative Genomic Hybridization (CGH) assays, and 40% underwent metabolic testing. Overall, 58 patients (61%) received definitive results after following all tests. Among the remaining 36 patients, 19 exhibited variants of unknown significance (VOUS) (21%)., Competing Interests: Declarations. Competing interests: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics approval and consent to participate: Informed consent was obtained from all subjects and/or their legal guardian(s) for participation. The study was carried out in accordance with the code of international and local Ethics (Declaration of Helsinki). This study was reviewed and approved by the local ethics committee of the King Fahad Specialist Hospital Dammam (Dammam, Saudi Arabia). Patient consent for publication: The parents of the patient provided written informed consent for publication. Ethical publication statement: We confirm that we have read the Journal’s position on issues involved in ethical publication and affirm that this report is consistent with those guidelines., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Breast density is an independent risk factor for breast cancer and affects the sensitivity of mammography screening. Therefore, new breast imaging approaches could benefit women with increased breast density in early cancer detection and diagnosis., Objectives: To assess the diagnostic performance of abbreviated breast MRI compared with mammography and other imaging modalities in screening and diagnosing breast cancer among Saudi women with dense breast tissue., Methods: A retrospective diagnostic study was conducted using anonymized medical images and histopathology information from 55 women, aged ≥30 years, who had dense breasts (Breast Imaging and Reporting Data System [BI-RADS] breast density categories C and D) and an abnormal mammogram. The sensitivity, specificity, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) were calculated for mammography, digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), synthetic mammography (SM) derived from DBT, ultrasound, and abbreviated breast MRI (ABMRI)., Results: A total of 19 women had pathology-proven breast cancer. Among all methods, ABMRI showed the highest sensitivity (94.7%) and specificity (58.3%), while mammography showed the lowest (84.2% and 44.4%, respectively). AUC for ABMRI was higher than all the methods including mammography (0.751 vs. 0.643; P < 0.05)., Conclusion: ABMRI appears to be more accurate in cancer diagnosis than mammography and other modalities for women with dense breast tissue. Further research is advised on a larger sample of Saudi women to confirm the benefit of ABMRI in breast cancer screening and diagnosis for women with increased breast density., Competing Interests: There are no conflicts of interest., (Copyright: © 2025 Saudi Journal of Medicine & Medical Sciences.)

Background/aim: Pharmacotherapy is vital in medicine, but inappropriate and inadequate use of medications significantly impacts global mortality and morbidity. Increased prescribing may indicate irrational use or prolonged illness, while decreased prescribing could suggest undertreatment, supply shortages, or the availability of safer and, more effective treatments. The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted health systems, potentially altering prescribing patterns. This study examined its impact on the prescribing patterns of common therapeutic categories and high-risk medicines in general practice in England., Materials and Methods: Common therapeutic categories were identified from English General Practice prescription data, and high-risk medicines were identified by mapping the UK pharmacovigilance data onto the English prescribing data. A retrospective analysis compared monthly prescription data pre-pandemic, during the pandemic, and post-pandemic. Significant changes in the prescribing volumes of therapeutic categories and high-risk medicines were tracked to determine persistence, intensification, or diminution post-pandemic. Linear regression models analysed prescribing trends., Results: Among 220 therapeutic categories, 16 experienced significant changes: 14 increased and two decreased during the pandemic. Of 78 high-risk medicines, six showed significant changes: two increased and three decreased. Only three therapeutic categories and two high-risk medicines returned to pre-pandemic levels., Conclusion: Despite a reduction in general practice appointments during the pandemic, prescribing for several therapeutic categories and certain high-risk medicines surged, indicating increased treatment, prolonged illness or stockpiling. Post-pandemic downward trends suggest long-term under-treatment or reduced stockpiling. Continuous monitoring, strategic healthcare planning, and regulatory interventions are needed to optimise prescribing. Future research is needed to assess the long-term effects on disease management., (Copyright © 2025, International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved.)