Usefulness of screening tools for predicting driving performance in people with Parkinson's disease
Sherrilene Classen1, D P Witter, D N Lanford
1Institute for Mobility, Activity and Participation, University of Florida, PO Box 100164, Gainesville, FL 32611-0164, USA. sclassen@phhp.ufl.edu
Objective:
We used screening tests administered by a certified driving rehabilitation specialist and by Parkinson's disease (PD) specialty neurologists to develop a model to predict on-road outcomes for patients with PD.
Method:
We administered a battery of screening tests to 41 patients with PD and 41 age-matched control participants before on-road testing. We used statistical models to predict actual on-road performance.
Results:
The PD group had a higher failure rate, indicating more on-road errors. For the PD participants, the Useful Field of View (UFOV) Subtest 2 and Rapid Pace Walk were responsible for most of the variance in the on-road test. The model accurately categorized pass-fail outcomes for 81% of PD patients.
Conclusion:
Clinical screening batteries may be predictive of driving performance in PD. The UFOV Subtest 2, administered in approximately 15 min, may be the single most useful clinical test for such predictions.
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