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Abstract
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INTRODUCTION: The currently recommended time to return to driving follow shoulder arthroplasty is controversial. The purpose of this study was to determine patient-specific factors associated with early return to driving following anatomic (aTSA) and reverse (RTSA) total shoulder arthroplasty.
METHODS: All patients greater than age 18 undergoing primary aTSA or RTSA at a single institution over a 3-year period were retrospectively identified. Patients were emailed a questionnaire to determine time to postoperative return to driving and frequency of driving prior to and following surgery. Patients that did not drive prior to surgery or did not complete the questionnaire were excluded from analysis. Multivariate analysis was used to determine patient-specific factors associated with early return to driving (within 2 weeks following surgery) and delayed return (greater than 6 weeks following surgery).
RESULTS: Four hundred six patients were included for analysis (aTSA = 214, RTSA = 192). Patients undergoing aTSA were significantly younger (68 vs 74 years) and drove more frequently both pre- and postoperatively than the RTSA cohort. One-hundred percent of patients returned to driving postoperatively. Patients undergoing aTSA more commonly demonstrated early return to driving than RTSA patients (34% vs 20%). Factors associated with increased odds of early return to driving included male gender (aTSA) and compliance with surgeon instruction (aTSA). Decreased odds of early return was associated with waiting to drive until cessation of sling use (RTSA), older age (RTSA), and increased BMI (RTSA). The presence of surgical complications (aTSA) and prolonged use of narcotics (RTSA) were associated with return to driving greater than 6 weeks following surgery. No difference in the rate of motor vehicle accidents was found between patients returning to driving less than versus greater than 2 weeks postoperatively.
CONCLUSION: Patients undergoing aTSA return to driving sooner than those undergoing RTSA. Early return to driving appears to be influenced by patient gender, age, BMI, narcotic and sling use, and compliance with surgeon instruction, but does not appear to result in a high incidence of postoperative MVA.
Language: en |