Injury Patterns Associated With Electronic Scooter Crashes: An Institutional Observational Study

With the rising popularity of electronic scooters, an increase in trauma and injuries related to these scooters has been observed. The objective of this study was to evaluate all electronic scooter-related traumas at our institution to characterize common injuries and educate the public around the safety of these scooters. We constructed a retrospective review of patients evaluated by the trauma service at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital with documented electronic scooter trauma. In our study, subjects were primarily male, typically between the ages of 24 and 64. The most commonly observed injuries were soft tissue, orthopedic, and maxillofacial in nature. Nearly half (45.1%) of subjects required admission, and thirty injuries (29.4%) required operative intervention. Alcohol use was not associated with the rate of admission or operative intervention. The benefits of easily accessible transportation offered by electronic scooters must be considered in context with the health risks when conducting future research.