Orthopedic injuries associated with use of electric scooters in the UK: A dangerous trend? Case series and review of the literature

Abstract

Background Electric scooters (e-scooters) are becoming increasingly common in major urban areas worldwide. Cities in some countries have even piloted programmes to promote their use to reduce general vehicular traffic. There have, however, been widespread media reports outlining concerns about their safety. We decided to investigate these concerns by reviewing the records of patients who presented to our center, a Level 1 Major Trauma Center in the United Kingdom, with orthopedic injuries associated with e-scooter use. Methods We reviewed the electronic medical records of all patients who presented to our center from January 2018 to January 2020 with e-scooter associated fractures. Demographic, injury, and surgical data were collected to characterize the types of e-scooter-related fractures and to investigate the frequency of such injuries over the duration of our search. A literature review of MEDLINE and EMBASE was performed to investigate specifically orthopedic injuries caused by electric scooter use. Results Six patients were identified (3 male, 3 female; mean age 35.43 years) who had sustained a variety of injuries. The presentation and clinical outcomes are presented. Three patients required operative management, and three patients were managed conservatively. Conclusion This case series demonstrates an increasing frequency of significant orthopedic injury associated with e-scooter use treated at our center over the course of two years. This small series highlights an important problem given that this increase has occurred despite electric scooter usage in public spaces being illegal. Legalization might result in further increase in the incidence of injury.