Electric Scooter Orthopaedic Injury Demographics at an Urban Level I Trauma Center

Objectives: This study highlights demographics and orthopaedic injuries of electric scooter-related trauma that presented to our institution over a 27-month period. Design: Retrospective review. Setting: Urban Level 1 trauma center. Patients: Patients presenting to the emergency department, trauma bay, or outpatient clinic after electric scooter injury were identified from November 2017 through January 2020 using ICD-10 diagnosis codes. Main Outcomes: Patient charts were reviewed for demographics, injury characteristics, imaging, treatment, perioperative data, and Injury Severity Scores. Results: Four hundred eighty-five patients presented during the study period. Of these, 44% had orthopaedic injuries, including 30% with pelvis or extremity fractures. There were 21 (10%) polytraumatized patients in the orthopaedic cohort. The age ranged from 16 to 79 years (average 36 years), with 58% men, and 18% were visitors from out of town. Of 49 patients requiring orthopaedic surgery, 8 underwent surgery on an urgent basis. The average Injury Severity Score for orthopaedic patients was 8.4 with a median of 5.0 for nonoperative injuries versus a significantly higher median of 16.0 for operative injuries. Twenty-nine percent of patients were intoxicated and only 2% wore a helmet. Conclusions: Electric scooter injuries are increasing, and many patients sustain high-energy injuries. As electric scooter use continues to increase, the prevalence of orthopaedic injuries is also likely to rise. Further studies are needed to fully understand the impact scooter-related injuries have on individual patients and the health care system.