Confirmation of the accuracy of a short battery to predict fitness-to-drive of stroke survivors without severe deficits.

OBJECTIVE The aim of this prospective study was to confirm the accuracy of a short assessment battery, used previously in a study to predict fitness-to-drive after stroke, in a new cohort of stroke survivors without severe deficits. DESIGN A prospective study. SUBJECTS A total of 43 (39 men and 4 women) consecutive survivors after stroke who were not severely impaired and who performed the pre-driving assessment, which included a standardized on-road test at the Belgian Road Safety Institute in Brussels, Belgium. On average, participants were 6 months post-stroke, independently ambulant with or without assistive devices, possessed valid drivers' licenses and actively drove prior to stroke onset. METHODS Fitness-to-drive decisions based on performance in 15 tests of a full-scale assessment battery were predicted using only the scores from the 3 predictive tests previously identified. RESULTS When the discriminant equation from the previous study including performance in the 3 tests (figure of Rey, visual neglect (lateralized mean reaction time) and on-road test) was applied, 37 (86%) of the 43 participants were correctly predicted to pass or fail the pre-driving assessment. The sensitivity and specificity of the predictions were 77% and 92%, respectively. CONCLUSION This study shows that the short assessment battery is a good predictor of fitness-to-drive in stroke survivors with moderate physical and cognitive impairments.