Appraising Rufaidah Al-Aslamia, First Muslim Nurse and Pioneer of Islamic Nursing: Contributions and Legacy

Global advancement in nursing is attributed mainly to western pioneers with negligible recognition of Rufaidah Al-Aslamia, who was the first Muslim nurse, and pioneer in Islamic nursing more than 1,400 years ago in Madinah (Medina, Saudi Arabia). She responded to the need for the provision of organized nursing care to injured soldiers in the Islamic battles during the time of Prophet Mohammed (Peace & Blessings Upon Him). The paucity of focus on Rufaidah Al-Aslamia triggered this scientific study to appraise her contributions and legacy as the pioneer of Islamic nursing. A qualitative, historical research inquiry was conducted using a research design that was exploratory, descriptive, explanatory, interpretive, and contextual within the constructivist paradigm. Data collection of literature was conducted by purposive sampling. Data analysis was conducted in two parts, which is document analysis, and thematic and content analysis with the use of deductive, inductive and abductive logical reasoning. The results of topic themes related to nurse-, patient-, and system-focused activities are provided with the emerging themes including efficient organizer, effective communication, clinical practice teacher, community care, and spiritual care. The historical narrative is reconstructed using empirical data sources as part of the discussion that includes the biography of Rufaidah Al-Aslamia and a vivid comprehensive portrayal of the contributions and legacy of Rufaidah Al-Aslamia as the first Muslim nurse and the pioneer of Islamic nursing.   Abstrak Rufaidah Al-Aslamia, Perawat Muslim Pertama dan Pelopor Keperawatan Islam: Kontribusi dan Legasi. Kemajuan global di bidang keperawatan seringkali dikaitkan terutama dengan perintis barat dengan sedikit pengakuan terhadap Rufaidah Al-Aslamia, yang merupakan perawat Muslim pertama, dan pelopor dalam keperawatan Islam lebih dari 1.400 tahun yang lalu di Madinah (Arab Saudi). Rufaidah Al-Aslamia menanggapi kebutuhan penyediaan asuhan keperawatan yang terorganisir untuk tentara yang terluka dalam pertempuran Islam pada masa Nabi Muhammad (SAW). Kurangnya fokus pada Rufaidah Al-Aslamia memicu studi ilmiah ini untuk menilai kontribusi dan warisannya sebagai pelopor keperawatan Islam. Penelusuran sejarah dengan pendekatan kualitatif dilakukan dengan menggunakan desain penelitian yang bersifat eksploratif, deskriptif, eksplanatif, interpretif, dan kontekstual dalam paradigma konstruktivis. Pengumpul-an data literatur dilakukan dengan purposive sampling. Analisis data dilakukan dalam dua bagian, yaitu analisis dokumen, dan analisis tematik dan isi dengan menggunakan penalaran logis deduktif, induktif dan abduktif. Hasil dari topik yang berkaitan dengan kegiatan yang berfokus pada perawat, pasien, dan sistem disajikan dengan tema-tema yang muncul termasuk penyelenggara yang efisien, komunikasi yang efektif, guru praktik klinis, perawatan komunitas, dan perawatan spiritual. Narasi sejarah direkonstruksi menggunakan sumber data empiris sebagai bagian dari diskusi yang mencakup biografi Rufaidah Al-Aslamia dan penggambaran komprehensif yang jelas tentang kontribusi dan warisan Rufaidah Al-Aslamia sebagai perawat Muslim pertama dan pelopor keperawatan Islam. Kata kunci: Nabi Muhammad, pelopor keperawatan islam, perawat muslim pertama, Rufaidah Al-Aslami

Erratum to: 36th International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s13054-016-1208-6.]

Knowledge and Attitudes of Saudi Emergency Physicians toward t-PA Use in Stroke

Background and Objectives. Tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) within 4.5 hours from onset improves outcome in patients with ischemic stroke and has been recommended by several international guidelines. Since its approval in 1996, the debate among emergency physicians continues particularly around the result interpretation of the first positive randomized controlled trial, the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) clinical trial. This lack of consensus might negatively affect the delivery of effective stroke care. Here we aimed to assess the knowledge and attitude of Saudi emergency physicians toward t-PA use within 4.5 hours of onset in acute ischemic stroke. Methods. A web-based, self-administered, locally designed questionnaire was sent to all emergency physicians practicing in the city of Riyadh from January to September 2017. Results. Out of 450 emergency physicians, 122 from ten hospitals in Riyadh participated in the survey, with a 27% response rate. The majority of participants were men (78%), and their mean age was 40 ± 8 years. Half of the participants were board certified, and 36% were consultants. Half of the participants consider the evidence for t-PA use in stroke within 4.5 hours of stroke onset to be controversial, and 41% recommend against its use due to lack of proven efficacy (37%), the risk of hemorrhagic complications (35%), lack of stroke expertise (21%), and medicolegal liability (9%). Nearly half were willing to administer IV t-PA for ischemic stroke in collaboration with remote stroke neurology consultation if telestroke is implemented. Conclusion. Our study detected inadequate knowledge and a negative attitude among Saudi emergency physicians toward t-PA use in acute stroke. This might negatively impact patient outcome. Therefore, we recommend developing urgent strategies to improve emergency physicians’ knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs in the management of acute stroke

Additional file 1 of Optical Properties of a Quantum Dot-Ring System Grown Using Droplet Epitaxy

Supplementary information. (PDF 83 kb

The effect of intermittent pneumatic compression on deep-vein thrombosis and ventilation-free days in critically ill patients with heart failure

There are contradictory data regarding the effect of intermittent pneumatic compression (IPC) on the incidence of deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) and heart failure (HF) decompensation in critically ill patients. This study evaluated the effect of adjunctive use of IPC on the rate of incident DVT and ventilation-free days among critically ill patients with HF. In this pre-specified secondary analysis of the PREVENT trial (N = 2003), we compared the effect of adjunctive IPC added to pharmacologic thromboprophylaxis (IPC group), with pharmacologic thromboprophylaxis alone (control group) in critically ill patients with HF. The presence of HF was determined by the treating teams according to local practices. Patients were stratified according to preserved (≥ 40%) versus reduced (< 40%) left ventricular ejection fraction, and by the New York Heart Association (NYHA) classification. The primary outcome was incident proximal lower-limb DVT, determined with twice weekly venous Doppler ultrasonography. As a co-primary outcome, we evaluated ventilation-free days as a surrogate for clinically important HF decompensation. Among 275 patients with HF, 18 (6.5%) patients had prevalent proximal lower-limb DVT (detected on trial day 1 to 3). Of 257 patients with no prevalent DVT, 11/125 (8.8%) patients in the IPC group developed incident proximal lower-limb DVT compared to 6/132 (4.5%) patients in the control group (relative risk, 1.94; 95% confidence interval, 0.74–5.08, p = 0.17). There was no significant difference in ventilator-free days between the IPC and control groups (median 21 days versus 25 days respectively, p = 0.17). The incidence of DVT with IPC versus control was not different across NYHA classes (p value for interaction = 0.18), nor across patients with reduced and preserved ejection fraction (p value for interaction = 0.15). Ventilator-free days with IPC versus control were also not different across NYHA classes nor across patients with reduced or preserved ejection fraction. In conclsuion, the use of adjunctive IPC compared with control was associated with similar rate of incident proximal lower-limb DVT and ventilator-free days in critically ill patients with HF