281 Epidemiological Analysis of E-Scooter Injuries among Patients Presenting to the Emergency Department

Abstract

E-Scooters are an emerging part of the urban transportation landscape that intersect with both pedestrian and automotive traffic. Injury patterns are important for numerous reasons including informing scooter design, transportation infrastructure and safety regulations. We sought to characterize the patient demographics and injury patterns associated with e-scooter use that result in an emergency department (ED) visit. This retrospective chart review was conducted between March 2017 and June 2019 in a single, urban academic ED with 80,000 annual visits. Inclusion criteria included all patients presenting to ED with an e-Scooter related injury. Automated keyword search method was utilized to identify charts with the word “scooter” and variant. Charts identified in the keyword search were reviewed by trained researchers to abstract key data into a Redcap database using a standard data abstraction form, including patient-centered epidemiologic data, injuries sustained, treatment rendered, and circumstances surrounding the injury. Ten percent of charts were randomly selected for abstraction by a second blinded researcher to assess inter-observer variability. This study was deemed exempt by our institutional review board. 235 patients were identified that sustained an injury involving an e-scooter, ranging in age from 7 to 89, with a median age of 31 (IQR 24-47) and a 53% male predominance. 64% of injured patients were from the District of Columbia, Maryland, and Virginia while 36% were from outside the region. 82% of patients reported an injury as a result from a fall from the device and only 1.7% reported wearing a helmet during the event. The most common area of physical exam finding occurred in the upper extremity which accounted for 36.2% of all injuries with abrasions (52.3%) and fractures (39.1%) representing the most common type of injury. X-ray and CT scans were performed on 69% and 34.5% of patients respectively. Specialists, most commonly orthopedic and trauma surgeons, were consulted on 28% of cases. 9.4% of patients required hospital admission. Analysis of injuries related to e-Scooters in our urban ED reveals a high percentage of head injuries and fractures. Further epidemiologic information regarding the circumstances of the injuries including geographic and rider factors would provide a more robust understanding of the events and inform effective policy development.