[Braindrive: Who can drive among patients undergoing brain radiation therapy?]

Purpose: Brain tumors can be associated with various neurological symptoms impairing driving ability. We sought to assess patients' knowledge on the French driving legislation.

Materials and methods: This is a prospective descriptive epidemiological study carried out at the Oscar Lambret center in Lille, among driving license holders treated by radiotherapy for one or more primary cerebral tumor or brain metastasis. The survey was carried out by hetero-administered questioners. The primary endpoint was the frequency of patients informed on the French driving legislation at the initial radiotherapy consultation, given with a 95% confidence interval by the Clopper-Pearson exact binomial method.

Results: From the 1st February to March 31st, 2022, 33 patients with brain tumors were evaluated. Three of them were excluded because they did not have a driving license. Among the 30 patients analyzed, 12 patients (40% IC95 [22.7; 59.4]) had been informed of the existence of a possible contraindication to drive before the radiotherapy consultation. Among the 30 patients, 21 (70%) had a contraindication to drive. Of the eight patients (26.6%) who drove, four (13.3%) should not.

Conclusion: Most patients have a contraindication to drive, but only 40% of the patients questioned stated that they had been informed of the existence of a possible contraindication before the radiotherapy consultation.