Qualitative approaches have drawn increased attention from researchers in the health sciences who wish to understand the complex phenomena of health and sickness. This paper attempts to summarize the fundamental stances, theories, and characteristics of qualitative studies in the health field. With medical anthropology as the principal theoretical foundation, a few examples are discussed. Importance is placed on how health issues are socio-culturally constructed, thus, how their context can be holistically understood. A qualitative study typically presents a specific case or cases where health issues are bound by a particular time and locale to a social context within the study population. Because they are based on phenomenology and hermeneutics rather than positivism, qualitative approaches are quite different from mainstream quantitative approaches in terms of their objective, focus, process, methods of perceiving reality, and researchers’ stances. Dialogue between qualitative and quantitative approaches should be encouraged.

Objective: To compare effects of the fluoropyrimidines S-1 and capecitabine on prothrombin time international normalized ratios (PT-INR) of warfarin following coadministration and after discontinuation of each fluoropyrimidine treatment.
Methods: Medical records of patients receiving warfarin with either S-1 (6 patients) or capecitabine (7 patients) were obtained from four hospitals.
Results: Increased PT-INR was observed until peak levels of warfarin were achieved in all patients in S-1 and capecitabine treatment groups.　Moreover, PT-INR significantly changed after coadministration within each group (p＜0.05).　Specifically, ratios of peak PT-INR after coadministration of each fluoropyrimidine and those following administration of warfarin alone (PT-INR elevation ratio) were 3.31 and 3.29 in S-1 and capecitabine coadministration groups, respectively.　Moreover, numbers of days to peak PT-INR were 38.3 and 31.3 days, respectively, and did not significantly differ between the treatment groups.　Furthermore, PT-INR returned to pretreatment levels by 17.5 and 15.1 days after discontinuation of S-1 and capecitabine, respectively, and did not significantly differ between the treatment groups.
Conclusion: Coadministration of S-1 and capecitabine similarly prolongs PT-INR by approximately 3-fold compared with administration of warfarin alone; therefore, these drug-drug interactions were clinically suggested to be of high risk for episodes of bleeding and remarkable alterations in coagulation parameters.　Therefore, blood coagulation ability should be more carefully monitored with regard to PT-INRs in patients receiving warfarin with S-1 or capecitabine not only during coadministration but also after discontinuation of fluoropyrimidine treatments.

Introduction: This study aims to explore experiences of romantic relationships and to examine determinants of desires to marry and have children in the future among Japanese university students.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among undergraduate students of A University, located in the capital city of a Japanese prefecture, using an anonymous self-administered and structured questionnaire developed by an online survey software.Results: A total of 815 respondents with complete data were analyzed by logistic regression analysis. Over 80% of males and females expressed the desire to marry and have children in the future. It was found that for both female and male respondents, the “desire to marry” was associated with currently being in a romantic relationship or having experience of sexual intercourse. On the contrary, the “desire to have children” was associated with currently being in a romantic relationship or having experience of sexual intercourse only among male respondents, and no significant association was observed among female respondents.Conclusion: “Currently being in a romantic relationship” and “having experience of sexual intercourse” were associated with wanting to marry and have children in the future among male university students. This suggests that these may be important factors in providing a positive perception regarding having children when they attain childbearing age.

Objective: To investigate the effectiveness and safety of continuous infusion of midazolam for the treatment of headache and/or nausea/vomiting in patients with brain tumors or cancer-associated meningitis. Methods: Patients who presented with headache and/or nausea/vomiting and underwent continuous infusion of midazolam from April 2005 to March 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. Results: Among 22 patients, 19 presented with headache and 14 with nausea/vomiting. The success rate of continuous infusion of midazolam for headache was 89% and that for nausea/vomiting was 78%. The mean number of vomiting episodes within 24 hours from the start of midazolam administration was 0.14±0.36, which was significantly lower than that from 24 hours before to the start of administration (1.43±1.60, P=0.015). Sedation was observed as an adverse event in five (23%) patients, but no patients developed respiratory depression. Conclusion: When conventional therapies are ineffective for headache and/or nausea/vomiting caused by brain tumors or cancer-associated meningitis, continuous infusion of midazolam may improve symptoms and should be considered as a treatment option.