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Vol. 3 No. 1 (2026)

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Submitted
November 13, 2026
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November 13, 2026

Copyright (c) 2026 Faisal Abdullah Shaher Alqahtani, Seham Abdu Ali Khafy, Saad Abdulrahman Saad Alsahli, Hashel Ali Saleh Al Abdullah, Malak Yahya Ali Jraibi, Abdullah Ali Alawadh, Rashed Abdullah Almuhaini, Maryam Saleh Al-Hafizi, Faiz Ali Ahmed Kaabi, Maryam Hejji Bumozah

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

From Biological Specimen to Clinical Decision: Integrating Forensic Toxicology, Emergency Medical Services, Nursing Documentation, Radiological Findings, Nutritional Confounders, and Social Context

https://doi.org/10.64483/202631830
Faisal Abdullah Shaher Alqahtani
Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia
Seham Abdu Ali Khafy
Abu Arish General Hospital, Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia
Saad Abdulrahman Saad Alsahli
Ruwaidat Al-Ard General Hospital, Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia
Hashel Ali Saleh Al Abdullah
Al-Hudn Health Center, Najran, Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia
Malak Yahya Ali Jraibi
King Fahd Central Hospital, Jazan, Ministry of health, Saudi Arabia
Abdullah Ali Alawadh
Maternity and Children's Hospital, Al-Kharj, Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia
Rashed Abdullah Almuhaini
King Khalid Hospital, Al-Kharj – Ministry of Health, Riyadh First Health Cluster, Saudi Arabia
Maryam Saleh Al-Hafizi
Al-Ais Hospital, Al-Ais Governorate – Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia
Faiz Ali Ahmed Kaabi
Irada Mental Health Hospital, Jazan, Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia
Maryam Hejji Bumozah
Maternity and Children's Hospital, Al-Kharj, Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia

Corresponding Author(s) : Faisal Abdullah Shaher Alqahtani

faisalabdullah@gmail.com

Saudi Journal of Medicine and Public Health, Vol. 3 No. 1 (2026)

Abstract

Background: Toxicological results seldom reach clinical decisions as isolated facts; they emerge from a chain of prehospital, nursing, laboratory, imaging, and social processes. Aim: To synthesize evidence on how forensic toxicology, emergency medical services (EMS), nursing documentation, radiology, nutritional status, and social context jointly shape the interpretation of biological specimens. Methods: A narrative review of peer-reviewed literature and surveillance reports published between 2017 and 2024 was conducted, with thematic synthesis across six domains. Results: Interpretive error accumulates at handoffs. Specimen timing and matrix, incomplete prehospital and nursing records, uninformative imaging requisitions, unrecognized nutritional modifiers, and stigma-related or structural biases each alter inference. Analytical advances such as high-resolution mass spectrometry expand detection but increase interpretive demands. Conclusion: An integrated, documentation-anchored framework linking specimen provenance to contextual metadata may reduce misinterpretation and support more accurate and equitable decisions.

Keywords

forensic toxicology; emergency medical services; nursing documentation; postmortem imaging; social determinants of health
Alqahtani, F. A. S., Khafy, S. A. A., Alsahli, S. A. S., Al Abdullah, H. A. S., Jraibi, M. Y. A., Alawadh, A. A., … Bumozah, M. H. (2026). From Biological Specimen to Clinical Decision: Integrating Forensic Toxicology, Emergency Medical Services, Nursing Documentation, Radiological Findings, Nutritional Confounders, and Social Context. Saudi Journal of Medicine and Public Health, 3(1), 369–378. https://doi.org/10.64483/202631830
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