When do patients resume driving after fast-track hip and knee arthroplasty: a cohort study of 408 patients.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Only scattered knowledge is available on when patients resume driving following surgery. We primarily aimed to investigate the timing of driving resumption and secondarily to investigate the influence of patients' and surgical factors after fast-track hip and knee arthroplasty. METHODS: This prospective cohort study included patients undergoing primary total hip arthroplasty (THA), total knee arthroplasty (TKA), and medial unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (mUKA) in a fast-track setup at Odense University Hospital, Denmark, from September 2022 to July 2023. Eligible patients received a survey 3 to 12 months post-discharge, regarding timing of driving resumption. RESULTS: 408 patients received the survey with a response rate of 88%. Within 2 weeks postoperatively, 13% (95% confidence interval [CI] 8-20) of THA, 11% (CI 6-19) of TKA, and 28% (CI 18-40) of mUKA resumed driving, which increased to 77% (CI 69-84) of THA, 65% (CI 55-74) of TKA, and 80% (CI 68-88) of mUKA by week 6. Median time to driving resumption was 6 weeks for THA and TKA, and 4 weeks for mUKA. The overall median time to resume driving was shorter for patients who underwent surgery on the left leg (4 weeks) than those who underwent surgery on the right leg (6 weeks). Female patients had a higher odds ratio of delayed (> 6 weeks) driving resumption (OR 3, CI 2-5). CONCLUSION: Overall, 65-80% of patients resumed driving within 6 weeks with median time being shorter (4 weeks) among mUKA patients and patients who underwent surgery on the left leg. Female sex was associated with delayed resumption of car driving beyond 6 weeks postoperatively.