Prediction for return to driving after the first-ever stroke in Korea: The KOSCO study.

OBJECTIVE: To identify contributing factors that can be used to predict which patients with first-ever stroke will return to driving during 1 year after stroke.

DESIGN: Multicentre cohort study.

SUBJECTS: A total of 620 first-ever stroke patients who drove before stroke.

METHODS: The Stroke Cohort for Functioning and Rehabilitation is a large, multicentre, prospective cohort study of all patients with acute first-ever stroke admitted to participating hospitals in 9 areas of Korea. This study analysed the data from 1,354 patients who completed a face-to-face survey about return to driving at 1 year after stroke. A multiple binary logistic regression analysis model was used to analyse factors that potentially influenced return to driving during 12 months after stroke.

RESULTS: Of 620 subjects, 410 (66.1%) returned to driving after stroke. They resumed driving at a mean of 2.15 months after stroke (standard deviation 2.32 years). Regression models showed that sex, age, modified Rankin scale (mRS), education about return to driving, and Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) were significantly related to return to driving. Stroke type, ambulatory function, and language function at 7 days were not correlated with return to driving.

CONCLUSION: Male patients, education about return to driving, lower mRS, and higher FMA at 7 days after stroke are predictors of return to driving. This model could be used by clinicians to help counsel patients and their families.