Brake response time returns to the pre-surgical level 6 weeks after unicompartmental knee arthroplasty.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of the study was to clarify whether driving abstinence should be recommended when patients are discharged from hospital after unicompartmental knee arthroplasty (UKA). We tested the hypotheses that there are differences in the peri-operative course of brake response time in patients undergoing right-sided (1) or left-sided (2) UKA. Additionally, we tested whether brake response time is significantly influenced by pain (3), driving experience (4) or age (5).


METHODS
In 43 patients undergoing UKA, brake response time was measured with a custom-made driving simulator pre-operatively and 1 and 6 weeks after UKA. Patients' visual analogue scales for knee pain and their self-reported driving experience were also assessed.


RESULTS
In patients with right-sided UKA, brake response time changed from 786 (261) ms pre-operatively to 900 (430) ms 1 week post-operatively (p = 0.029). At 6 weeks post-operatively, brake response time had returned to 712 (139) ms, which was deemed to be an insignificant change from the pre-operative reference benchmark. When surgery was performed on the contralateral left side, no effect was found onto the right side's brake response time. Knee pain and driving experience were significantly correlated with brake response time. No such correlations were found between brake response time and age.


CONCLUSIONS
On the basis of the current findings, it is concluded that brake response time returns to pre-operative levels 6 weeks after UKA surgery. Therefore, it is proposed that driving be abstained from for that period.
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Innsbruck Medical University, Anichstrasse 35, 6020, Innsbruck, Austria, michael.liebensteiner@i-med.ac.at.
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MC
Liebensteiner
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H
Rochau
P
P
Renz
V
V
Smekal
R
R
Rosenberger
F
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Birkfellner
C
C
Haid
M
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Krismer
D000368:Aged; D018771:Arthralgia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D019645:Arthroplasty, Replacement, Knee; D001334:Automobile Driving; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007719:Knee Joint / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D020370:Osteoarthritis, Knee / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011184:Postoperative Period; D011930:Reaction Time; D020127:Recovery of Function