The Epidemiology and the Treatment of Fractures Due to Electric Scooters: A Comparison of Pediatric and Adult Age Groups

Abstract

Aim: Electric scooters (e-scooters) are widely used as alternative vehicles worldwide. These light vehicles do not need a license to drive, and it is also popular among vehicles under the age of 18 among users in Turkey. This is a new term in the literature since there is an increase in accidents resulting from this overuse. This study aims to reveal the patterns and severity of orthopedic injuries resulting from using an e-scooter, especially in the pediatric population.Patients and methods: Patients who were admitted to the university hospital emergency department due to using an e-scooter and had fractures were retrospectively analyzed. Demographic data, admission times, injury mechanisms, and fracture patterns of the patients were documented.Results: Forty-nine (49.4%) of 99 patients were under 18, and 50 (50.6%) were over 18. It is seen that 58.5% (58 patients) had an accident by falling spontaneously, 37.3% (37 patients) collided with vehicles in traffic, and 4.2% had an accident by colliding with a standing object. While 59.5% of the upper extremity fractures are seen, 27.2% are lower extremity fractures. Multiple fractures were observed in 13.3%.Conclusion: Pediatric population frequently uses these alternative means of transport. The pediatric group usually had upper extremity injuries, while adults mostly had lower extremity injuries. Care must be taken when children are drivers of e-scooters.

Characteristics and Injury Patterns in Traumatic Brain Injury Related to E-Scooter Use in Riga, Latvia: Multicenter Case Series

“…It is worth noting that Blomberg et al ( 2019) [15] stand out, reporting in their study that 57.1% of all e-scooter-related injury patients were female. Similar findings were reported by Büyükceran et al (2023) [16], where their study revealed that 50.5% of patients were female, while 49.5% were male.…”

“…In this study, there were only four pediatric patients (under 18 years of age) with a mean age of 13.8 years (range, 12-15 years). Several studies have specifically delved into the pediatric population concerning e-scooter injuries [13,14,16]. For instance, Cohen et al (2022) [13] noted that children exhibit a higher incidence of fractures and polytrauma related to e-scooters when compared to adults, although they experience fewer facial injuries despite a similar rate of head trauma.…”

“…In another study, Morgan et al (2022) [14] reported findings on 10 patients, among whom 5 necessitated orthopedic surgery. However, Büyükceran et al (2023) [16] incorporated 49.4% of patients below 18 years and 50.6% of patients aged 18 and above in their research. Their findings indicated that pediatric patients were more prone to upper extremity injuries, whereas adults were more predisposed to lower extremity injuries.…”

Burden and Patterns of Electric Scooter-Related Injuries: Insights From 2 Polish Emergency Departments

“…The predominance of falls (single-user accidents) over collisions (involving 2 or more individuals) with high-speed accidents is a common finding also reported by other studies [18,19,27,34,54,55]. This suggests that e-scooters are mainly a danger to their users and thus the need for stricter regulations about their use, such as wearing helmets or implementing speed limits.…”

Incidence, Management, and Hospital Costs of Orthopaedic Injuries of E-Scooter Riders in Western Australia

“…A recent study from Victoria, Australia, noted that 81% of patients with e-scooter-related injuries who were admitted under orthopaedics required surgery [16]. Internationally, up to 30% of fractures require surgical fixation reflective of a novel mechanism of injury that is associated with increased orthopaedic workload and cost to the healthcare system [15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]. Previous work from Australia has noted that between 12-25% of all ED presentations for e-scooter injuries are admitted to the hospital [5,6,9].…”