title: Resumption of car driving after total hip replacement.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess periods required for resuming car driving in 130 patients who had undergone total hip replacement (THR).
  
  
  METHODS
  80 men and 50 women aged 39 to 80 years who had been driving automatic (n=49) or manual (n=81) cars in the previous 3 months and underwent unilateral primary THR of the right (n=85) or left (n=45) hip were recruited. Patients were advised to resume driving after 6 weeks if they felt comfortable to do so.
  
  
  RESULTS
  105 (81%) patients were able to resume driving at week 6 to 8; 67 (64%) had had a right THR and 65 (62%) were manual car drivers. 22 (17%) patients were able to do so at week 12. The remaining 3 (2%) patients were not confident to drive even at week 12. No patient reported deterioration in driving ability, whereas 48 (38%) felt a subjective improvement in their driving ability.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The time to resume driving varies in different patients. The advice should be individualised, depending on the patient's recovery and confidence level.
authors.affiliation: Department of Trauma and Orthopaedics, Wansbeck General Hospital, Ashington, Northumbria, England, United Kingdom. gabbas@doctors.org.uk
authors.forename: Ghulam
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Abbas
authors.forename: Abdul
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Waheed
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D019644:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Hip / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006621:Hip Joint / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015207:Osteoarthritis, Hip / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*; D011184:Postoperative Period; D016059:Range of Motion, Articular / Q000502:physiology*; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013997:Time Factors