Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Fitness-to-drive after adult civilian traumatic brain injury: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

  • Methodology
  • Published:
Neurosurgical Review Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) poses significant challenges for assessing fitness-to-drive (FTD) and determining the appropriate timing for return-to-driving (RTD) in civilian adults. This systematic review and meta-analysis protocol is designed to offer a comprehensive assessment of RTD timelines post-TBI, examining the effects of injury severity as well as demographic and clinical factors that influence driving capabilities. In response to gaps identified in previous literature—namely, the absence of recent systematic search strategies and thorough quality assessments—this study employs rigorous methodologies for literature search, data extraction, and evaluation of study quality. Our approach aims to provide reliable estimates and detailed analyses of subgroups within the TBI population. The findings aim to support clinical decision-making, inform RTD readiness, and potentially impact policy and driving assessment protocols. Ultimately, this review seeks to contribute to public safety measures, reduce traffic-related harm, and improve life outcomes for individuals recovering from TBI, thereby filling a vital research niche in neurotrauma rehabilitation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

All data used to perform this study are available within the paper and its Supplementary Information.

References

  1. American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) (2020) Occupational therapy practice framework: domain and process. Am J Occup Ther 74:7412410010p1–7412410010p87. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2020.74S2001

    Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Rivara FP, Ebel BE, Binjolkar M, Wang J, Hanron A, Kroshus E, Boyle LN, Patrick KE (2022) Cognitive impairment and driving skills in youth after concussion. J Neurotrauma. https://doi.org/10.1089/neu.2022.0308

  3. Rauchman SH, Zubair A, Jacob B, Rauchman D, Pinkhasov A, Placantonakis DG, Reiss AB (2023) Traumatic brain injury: mechanisms, manifestations, and visual sequelae. Front Neurosci 17:1090672. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2023.1090672

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  4. Dams-O’Connor K, Juengst SB, Bogner J, Chiaravalloti ND, Corrigan JD, Giacino JT, Harrison-Felix CL, Hoffman JM, Ketchum JM, Lequerica AH, Marwitz JH, Miller AC, Nakase-Richardson R, Rabinowitz AR, Sander AM, Zafonte R, Hammond FM (2023) Traumatic brain injury as a chronic disease: insights from the United States Traumatic Brain Injury Model Systems Research Program. Lancet Neurol. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(23)00065-0

  5. Palubiski L, Crizzle A (2016) Evidence based review of fitness-to-drive and return-to-driving following traumatic brain injury. Geriatrics 1:17. https://doi.org/10.3390/geriatrics1030017

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  6. Downs SH, Black N (1998) The feasibility of creating a checklist for the assessment of the methodological quality both of randomised and non-randomised studies of health care interventions. J Epidemiol Community Health 52:377–384. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech.52.6.377

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. McGowan J, Sampson M, Salzwedel DM, Cogo E, Foerster V, Lefebvre C (2016) PRESS peer review of electronic search strategies: 2015 guideline statement. J Clin Epidemiol 75:40–46. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclinepi.2016.01.021

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Dawson J, Johnston S, Marshall S, Schweizer TA, Reed N, Devos H, Schmidt J, Lithopoulos A, Zemek R (2023) Return to driving following concussion: a research priority. J Head Trauma Rehabil 38:277–278. https://doi.org/10.1097/HTR.0000000000000849

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  9. Alhashmi D, Lalor A, Fossey E (2022) Methods to evaluate driving competence for people with acquired brain injury (ABI): a systematic review. Front Rehabilit Sci 3:1020420. https://doi.org/10.3389/fresc.2022.1020420

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Moher D, Shamseer L, Clarke M, Ghersi D, Liberati A, Petticrew M, Shekelle P, Stewart LA, PRISMA-P Group (2015) Preferred reporting items for systematic review and meta-analysis protocols (PRISMA-P) 2015 statement. Syst Rev 4:1. https://doi.org/10.1186/2046-4053-4-1

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  11. Egeto P, Badovinac SD, Hutchison MG, Ornstein TJ, Schweizer TA (2019) A systematic review and meta-analysis on the association between driving ability and neuropsychological test performances after moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 25:868–877. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1355617719000456

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  12. Guyatt GH, Oxman AD, Vist GE, Kunz R, Falck-Ytter Y, Alonso-Coello P, Schünemann HJ, GRADE Working Group (2008) GRADE: an emerging consensus on rating quality of evidence and strength of recommendations. BMJ 336:924–926. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.39489.470347.AD

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. Page MJ, McKenzie JE, Bossuyt PM, Boutron I, Hoffmann TC, Mulrow CD, Shamseer L, Tetzlaff JM, Akl EA, Brennan SE, Chou R, Glanville J, Grimshaw JM, Hróbjartsson A, Lalu MM, Li T, Loder EW, Mayo-Wilson E, McDonald S et al (2021) The PRISMA 2020 statement: an updated guideline for reporting systematic reviews. Rev Esp Cardiol (Engl Ed) 74:790–799. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rec.2021.07.010

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Miami Hospital, Miami, FL, USA

    Augusto Müller Fiedler, Timoteo Almeida, Fernando De Nigris Vasconcellos, Alexis Morell, Bernardo Assumpção de Monaco, Renato Anghinah & Joacir Graciolli Cordeiro

  2. Department of Radiation Oncology, Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA

    Timoteo Almeida

  3. Department of Neurological Surgery, University of Texas Health Science, McGovern Medical School, Houston, TX, USA

    Fernando De Nigris Vasconcellos

  4. Department of Neurology, Neurosurgery Division, Clinics Hospital, University of São Paulo Medical School, São Paulo, Brazil

    Bernardo Assumpção de Monaco

  5. Department of Neurology, Clinics Hospital, University of São Paulo Medical School, São Paulo, Brazil

    Renato Anghinah

Authors
  1. Augusto Müller Fiedler
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Timoteo Almeida
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Fernando De Nigris Vasconcellos
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Alexis Morell
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Bernardo Assumpção de Monaco
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Renato Anghinah
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Joacir Graciolli Cordeiro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

AMF and TA conceived the study. AM developed the search strategy. AMF, FV, AM, and TA performed the preliminary search. BAM and RA reviewed the search strategy. RA and BAM will oversee data extraction and analysis. AMF and JGC produced the first draft of the manuscript. The definitive protocol was reviewed and approved by all authors (AMF, TA, FV, AM, BAM, RA and JGC).

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Augusto Müller Fiedler.

Ethics declarations

Ethics approval

This article does not contain any studies with human participants or animals performed by any of the authors.

Consent to participate

Not applicable.

Competing interests

The authors have no competing interests to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.

Additional information

Publisher’s Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Supplementary information

ESM 1

For more information on Appendix sections 1 and 2, see online supplementary material. Appendix A PRISMA-P checklist. Appendix B Medline search strategy. Supplementary material. (DOCX 18 kb)

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Müller Fiedler, A., Almeida, T., Vasconcellos, F.D.N. et al. Fitness-to-drive after adult civilian traumatic brain injury: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis. Neurosurg Rev 46, 324 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10143-023-02228-5

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10143-023-02228-5

Keywords

Search

Navigation