Historical and projected fractures associated with mobility scooters presenting to U.S. emergency departments: 2004–2025

Abstract

IntroductionThe proportion of mobility scooter users in the United States continues to rise. However, these devices impart a substantial yet underappreciated risk of serious injury – namely, fractures – on users. MethodsThe purpose of this cross-sectional, retrospective study was to use the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) to quantify the national burden of these device-associated fractures between 2004 and 2017, analyzing in two-year intervals. We also projected estimates to 2025, and described the demographic characteristics of those injured. ResultsWe found that national estimates of device-associated fractures increased significantly between the 2004–2005 (N = 2583; C.I. 1851 - 3316) and 2016–2017 (N = 6553; C.I. 5026 - 8081) periods (p < 0.001). A linear regression model (R2 = 0.89; P = 0.002) was applied to project 9824 such fractures (C.I. 8273–11,328) in the 2024–2025 period. Injured patients were commonly over age 65 (63.5%; C.I. 57.7%–69.4%) and white (61.4%; C.I. 50.7% - 72.1). Fractures often occurred at home (28.6%; C.I. 22.0%–35.3%) or in public (26.0%; C.I. 21.1%–30.9%). ConclusionOur study suggests that osteoarthritic patients relying on mobility scooters to manage pain during ambulation should be considered candidates for total joint replacement procedures. This may help minimize the growing economic and health burden of mobility scooter fractures.