The Escalating Burden of E-Scooter-Related Injuries: A Two-Year Comparative Analysis

Electric scooter (e-scooter) injuries represent an emerging challenge in Emergency Departments due to their rising incidence and associated resource demands. This study is a follow up from our previous study which demonstrated that 50% of e-scooter injuries required specialist orthopaedic referral 1. This study aims to analyse trends in e-scooter-related injuries presenting to a tertiary referral centre and to evaluate the clinical outcomes, management strategies, and compare service impact over a two-year period.

This is a retrospective analysis of all patients presenting to our hospital between 1st August 2023 and 31st July 2024. We compared our data to our previous study which analysed e-scooter presentations between 1st August 2021 and 31st July 2022. Datapoints measured included mechanism of injury, type of injury, use of safety equipment, outcome of emergency presentation, admission length, surgery performed, and follow-up.

A total of 306 patients were included, increasing from 105 in Phase 1 (1st August 2021 - 31st July 2022) to 201 in Phase 2 (1st August 2023 - 31st July 2024) (p = 0.157). Fractures were identified in 134 e-scooter presentations (43%), and 27 patients (8.9%) required emergency fixation. Physiotherapy referrals rose from 4.8% to 34.3% (p = 0.001), and wound care needs increased from 6.7% to 14.4% (p = 0.07). Orthopaedic clinic visits rose (mean 1.96 to 3.1), while admission (13.3% vs. 13.4%, p = 1.0) and surgery rates (9.5% vs. 8.5%, p = 0.92) remained stable.

This study highlights a significant increase in both the frequency and complexity of e-scooter-related trauma over two years, with rising rates of vertebral and hip fractures, wound care needs, and physiotherapy referrals. Despite stable admission and surgical rates, outpatient and allied health burdens have escalated. These findings underscore the need for targeted public health interventions to mitigate injury severity and reduce preventable harm.