An objective assessment of safety to drive in an upper limb cast

Stevenson, H. L.; Peterson, Nan; Talbot, Charlie; Dalal, Siddhartha R.; Watts, Adam C.; Trail, I. A.

doi:10.1177/1753193412451385

Cited by 19 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 5 publications

(11 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Immobilization from the forearm to above the elbow, such as with a long-arm cast, significantly inhibits the ability to drive safely 27 51 52 by diminishing pronation and supination (more so than elbow flexion and extension 48 ). Therefore, few patients drive with above-the-elbow immobilization.…”

Section: Upper Extremitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Driving after Upper or Lower Extremity Orthopaedic Surgery

Mackenzie

Bitzer

Familiari³

et al. 2018

Joints

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Orthopaedic procedures can affect patients' ability to perform activities of daily living, such as driving automobiles or other vehicles that require coordinated use of the upper and lower extremities. Many variables affect the time needed before a patient can drive competently after undergoing orthopaedic surgery to the extremities. These variables include whether the patient underwent upper or lower extremity surgery, the country in which the patient resides, whether the right or left lower extremity is involved, whether the dominant arm is involved, whether the extremity is in a cast or brace, whether the patient has adequate strength to control the steering wheel, and whether the patient is taking pain medication. The type and complexity of the procedure also influence the speed of return of driving ability. Few studies provide definitive data on driving ability after upper or lower extremity surgery. Patients should be counseled not to drive until they can control the steering wheel and the pedals competently and can drive well enough to prevent further harm to themselves or to others. This review discusses the limited recommendations in the literature regarding driving motorized vehicles after upper or lower extremity orthopaedic surgery.

show abstract

Section: Upper Extremitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Driving after Upper or Lower Extremity Orthopaedic Surgery

Mackenzie

Bitzer

Familiari³

et al. 2018

Joints

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Statistical analysis of significance was only performed in three studies. [7][8][9] Subsequently, the results need to be interpreted with caution, especially when considering the small sample sizes.…”

Section: Driving Performance Whilst Immobilised In a Wrist Cast Or Spmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Two studies also used short arm casts that included the thumb. 9,10 Three studies used long arm casts. 7,9,11 The method of driving assessment varied among studies with on-road driving tests used by the majority.…”

Section: Driving Performance Whilst Immobilised In a Wrist Cast Or Spmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These studies were performed in different countries including the United Kingdom, [8][9][10] the United States 7 and Australia, 11 with resultant differences in left-or right-hand drive cars used in the driving assessments. Right-hand drive cars are used in the United Kingdom and Australia while left-hand drive cars are used in the United States.…”

Section: Driving Performance Whilst Immobilised In a Wrist Cast Or Spmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

When can I drive? Return to driving following a wrist fracture: A critical review

et al. 2015

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Introduction: The primary aim of this review was to identify literature that examined factors which influence driving performance following a wrist fracture. Given the known scarcity of research in this area, secondary aims were to detail current practices including the driving habits of patients following a wrist fracture and health professionals' opinions on safe return to driving. Methods: We performed a search in April 2015 using three electronic databases to obtain relevant literature in the English language. Relevant studies including clinical trials, surveys and case reports were reviewed. Results: The search identified 12 relevant studies. Five of these were clinical studies with a crossover design that investigated the driving ability of uninjured individuals with the wrist immobilised in a cast. The remaining were surveybased studies. The clinical trials showed that the presence of a wrist cast reduced driving performance in uninjured individuals. No studies investigated driving performance in individuals with a wrist fracture. The surveys showed that this patient group returns to driving despite perceived safety risks. Inconsistency in expert opinions on whether individuals with a wrist fracture are safe to drive was highlighted. Conclusions: There is evidence to suggest that driving performance is reduced in uninjured individuals when wearing a cast immobilising the wrist; however, the influence of wrist fracture is unknown. This, along with safety implications resulting from current driving behaviours and inconsistent information provided to patients regarding return to driving, highlights the need for further studies to ascertain which factors influence driving performance following wrist fracture.

show abstract

“…14 Most studies investigating potential impacts of DRF on fitness to drive have been performed on healthy participants using immobilisation orthoses, but not on actual patients. 10,12,13,15,16 These provide low level evidence that driving when the wrist is immobilised results in worsened driving performance in healthy participants, 9 but potential confounding factors relating to DRF pathology remain poorly understood. There is only one other known study which assessed driving performance in participants with DRF.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Driving performance following a wrist fracture: A pilot study using a driving simulator

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Introduction Driving performance, as assessed using a driving simulator, after distal radius fracture has not been previously studied. Our aims were to undertake a pilot study to assess feasibility via: (i) acceptability of driving simulation for this assessment purpose, (ii) recruitment and retention, (iii) sample size calculation. Preliminary evaluations of differences in driving performance between individuals recovering from distal radius fracture and controls were conducted to confirm if the methodology provided meaningful results to aid in justification for future studies. Methods Driving performance of 22 current drivers (aged 21–81 years), recruited by convenience sampling, was assessed using a driving simulator. The fracture group included those recovering from distal radius fracture managed with open reduction and internal fixation using a volar plate. The control group were uninjured individuals. Assessment was performed approximately five weeks post-surgery and follow-up assessment two weeks later. Acceptability outcome measures included pain and simulator sickness scores, feasibility measures included retention rates and measures of driving performance included time spent speeding, time spent out of the lane, standard deviation of lateral position and hazard reactions. Results The assessment was completed by 91% of participants; two participants dropped out secondary to simulator sickness. Retention rates were 83%. Preliminary results suggest those with distal radius fracture spent more time out of the lane and less time speeding. Conclusion This method was sensitive, acceptable and feasible according to the parameters of this pilot study. The results from this small sample suggest that between-group differences in driving performance are measurable using driving simulation five weeks following distal radius fracture.

show abstract

An objective assessment of safety to drive in an upper limb cast

Cited by 19 publications

References 5 publications

Driving after Upper or Lower Extremity Orthopaedic Surgery

Driving after Upper or Lower Extremity Orthopaedic Surgery

When can I drive? Return to driving following a wrist fracture: A critical review

Driving performance following a wrist fracture: A pilot study using a driving simulator

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About