As Electric Scooters Take Over Cities, Are Injuries Taking Over Emergency Departments?

Such injuries account for a growing number of ED visits and hospitalizations, even in patients below the minimum rider age.

Electric scooters have become a popular means of transportation within U.S. cities due to accessibility, convenience, and low cost. Given variable regulations and notable lack of helmet use, understanding injury burden is of public health interest.

Using a large national database of emergency department visits for injury, researchers identified power scooter−related injuries from 2014 to 2018. During this time, there was a threefold increase in such injuries, from 4582 to 14,651. In 2018, head and lower extremity injuries were most common, each occurring in 32% of patients. Most injured patients were <35 years old. The 18- to 34-year age group experienced a fivefold increase in injuries between 2016 and 2018, overtaking <18-year-olds as the …

Reviewing Author

Lauren M. Westafer, DO, MPH, MS

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportNational Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Editorial BoardsAnnals of Emergency Medicine

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesAcademy for Academic Women in Emergency Medicine (Social Media Chair)

Lauren M. Westafer, DO, MPH, MS

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportNational Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Editorial BoardsAnnals of Emergency Medicine

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesAcademy for Academic Women in Emergency Medicine (Social Media Chair)

As Electric Scooters Take Over Cities, Are Injuries Taking Over Emergency Departments?

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Reviewing Author