@article{ref1,
title="Syncope and subsequent traffic crash: a responsibility analysis",
journal="PLoS one",
year="2023",
author="Staples, John A. and Erdelyi, Shannon and Merchant, Ketki and Yip, Candace and Khan, Mayesha and Redelmeier, Donald A. and Chan, Herbert and Brubacher, Jeffrey R.",
volume="18",
number="1",
pages="e0279710-e0279710",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Physicians are often asked to counsel patients about driving safety after syncope, yet little empirical data guides such advice. <br><br>METHODS: We identified a population-based retrospective cohort of 9,507 individuals with a driver license who were discharged from any of six urban emergency departments (EDs) with a diagnosis of 'syncope and collapse'. We examined all police-reported crashes that involved a cohort member as a driver and occurred between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2016. We categorized crash-involved drivers as 'responsible' or 'non-responsible' for their crash using detailed police-reported crash data and a validated responsibility scoring tool. We then used logistic regression to test the hypothesis that recent syncope was associated with driver responsibility for crash. <br><br>RESULTS: Over the 7-year study interval, cohort members were involved in 475 police-reported crashes: 210 drivers were deemed responsible and 133 drivers were deemed non-responsible for their crash; the 132 drivers deemed to have indeterminate responsibility were excluded from further analysis. An ED visit for syncope occurred in the three months leading up to crash in 11 crash-responsible drivers and in 5 crash-non-responsible drivers, suggesting that recent syncope was not associated with driver responsibility for crash (adjusted odds ratio, 1.31; 95%CI, 0.40-4.74; p = 0.67). However, all drivers with cardiac syncope were deemed responsible, precluding calculation of an odds ratio for this important subgroup. <br><br>CONCLUSIONS: Recent syncope was not significantly associated with driver responsibility for traffic crash. Clinicians and policymakers should consider these results when making fitness-to-drive recommendations after syncope.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="1932-6203",
doi="10.1371/journal.pone.0279710",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0279710"
}