Dataset Information

Injuries Associated With Standing Electric Scooter Use.

ABSTRACT: Importance:Since September 2017, standing electric scooters have proliferated rapidly as an inexpensive, easy mode of transportation. Although there are regulations for safe riding established by both electric scooter companies and local governments, public common use practices and the incidence and types of injuries associated with these standing electric scooters are unknown. Objective:To characterize injuries associated with standing electric scooter use, the clinical outcomes of injured patients, and common use practices in the first US metropolitan area to experience adoption of this technology. Design, Setting, and Participants:This study of a case series used retrospective cohort medical record review of all patients presenting with injuries associated with standing electric scooter use between September 1, 2017, and August 31, 2018, at 2 urban emergency departments associated with an academic medical center in Southern California. All electric scooter riders at selected public intersections in the community surrounding the 2 hospitals were also observed during a 7-hour observation period in September 2018. Main Outcomes and Measures:Incidence and characteristics of injuries and observation of riders' common use practices. Results:Two hundred forty-nine patients (145 [58.2%] male; mean [SD] age, 33.7 [15.3] years) presented to the emergency department with injuries associated with standing electric scooter use during the study period. Two hundred twenty-eight (91.6%) were injured as riders and 21 (8.4%) as nonriders. Twenty-seven patients were younger than 18 years (10.8%). Ten riders (4.4%) were documented as having worn a helmet, and 12 patients (4.8%) had either a blood alcohol level greater than 0.05% or were perceived to be intoxicated by a physician. Frequent injuries included fractures (79 [31.7%]), head injury (100 [40.2%]), and contusions, sprains, and lacerations without fracture or head injury (69 [27.7%]). The majority of patients (234 [94.0%]) were discharged home from the emergency department; of the 15 admitted patients, 2 had severe injuries and were admitted to the intensive care unit. Among 193 observed electric scooter riders in the local community in September 2018, 182 (94.3%) were not wearing a helmet. Conclusions and Relevance:Injuries associated with standing electric scooter use are a new phenomenon and vary in severity. In this study, helmet use was low and a significant subset of injuries occurred in patients younger than 18 years, the minimum age permitted by private scooter company regulations. These findings may inform public policy regarding standing electric scooter use.

SUBMITTER: Trivedi TK

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6484536 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Similar Datasets

Project description:BackgroundThe number of users of electric scooters, which provide swift and convenient mobility options, has increased sharply over recent years as their distribution as a shared service has expanded. Although the number of accidents and related damage has increased accordingly, limited research has analyzed data on the new types of accidents arising from electric scooters. This study aimed to analyze data on trauma characteristics due to accidents that occurred during electric scooter use.MethodsA retrospective chart review was conducted for patients who visited the regional trauma center of our institute due to electric scooter accidents from April 2018 to October 2021. Information was extracted on helmet-wearing status, sex, age, drinking status, accident timeframe, accident mechanism, electric scooter proficiency (period of use), injury severity, severe trauma, lethality, admission to the intensive care unit, surgery under general anesthesia, and the trauma region.ResultsAmong the 108 patients involved in electric scooter accidents, 92 patients were not wearing a helmet. Eighty-nine patients (85.2%) were male. The average age of the patients without a helmet was 31.3 years, while that of patients with a helmet was 34.1 years. The most frequent causes of accidents were lack of electric scooter operation experience and falling off the scooter due to obstacles (90 cases). Whether surgery was performed under general anesthesia was not associated with helmet use or non-use, although all patients who underwent facial fracture surgery were not wearing a helmet.ConclusionThe craniofacial region was most frequently affected in electric scooter accidents and wearing a helmet was the best way to prevent craniofacial trauma. Although helmet-wearing is mandatory, the majority of treated patients were not wearing a helmet at the time of injury. Thus, there is an urgent need to introduce a helmet rental system, as well as strict legal requirements, to improve this situation.

Project description:ImportanceAs cell phones gain more influence in daily life, they also become potentially more hazardous. Injuries resulting from cell phone use have long been reported largely in the context of driving-related incidents, but other mechanisms of injury have been underreported.ObjectiveTo assess the incidence, types, and mechanisms of head and neck injuries associated with cell phone use.Design, setting, and participantsRetrospective cross-sectional study using data from a national database of individuals with head and neck injuries related to cell phone use who presented to emergency departments in the United States between January 1998 and December 2017.Main outcomes and measuresIncidence, types, and mechanisms of injury related to cell phone use in the US population.ResultsA reported total of 2501 patients (1129 [55.0%] female, 795 [38.8%] white, and 772 [37.6%] aged 13-29 years) presented with injuries of the head and neck related to cell phone use; the estimated weighted national total was 76 043 patients (42 846 females [56.3%], 34 894 [45.9%] white, and 29 956 [39.4%] aged 13-29 years). The most commonly reported subsites of injuries in the head and neck region included the head (33.1% of estimated total); face, including eyelid, eye area, and nose (32.7%); and neck (12.5%). The most common injury diagnoses included laceration (26.3% of estimated total), contusion/abrasion (24.5%), and internal organ injury (18.4%). Age group distributions showed that most injuries associated with cell phone user distraction occurred among individuals aged 13 to 29 years (60.3%; Cramer V = 0.29). In addition, those younger than 13 years were significantly more likely to sustain direct mechanical injury from a cell phone (82.1%) than to have a cell phone use-associated injury (17.9%) (Cramer V = 0.305), whereas a cell phone use-associated injury was more likely than a direct mechanical injury to occur among those aged 50 to 64 years (68.2% vs 31.8%; Cramer V = 0.11) and those older than 65 years (90.3% vs 9.7%; Cramer V = 0.29).Conclusions and relevanceCell phone-related injuries to the head and neck have increased steeply over the recent 20-year period, with many cases resulting from distraction. Although the disposition of most cases is simple, some injuries bear a risk of long-term complications. Many of these injuries occurred among those aged 13 to 29 years and were associated with common activities, such as texting while walking. These findings suggest a need for patient education about injury prevention and the dangers of activity while using these devices.

Project description:BackgroundElectric scooters (e-scooters) have become a popular mode of transportation in both the United States and Europe. In the wake of this popularity, e-scooters have changed the commuting experience in many metropolitan areas. Although e-scooters offer an efficient and economical way to travel short distances in traffic-congested areas, recent studies have raised concerns over their safety. Bird and Tier Mobility are 2 popular e-scooter companies in the United States and Europe, respectively. Both companies maintain active social media accounts with hundreds of posts and tens of thousands of followers. Recent studies have shown that consumer behavior may be influenced by the content posted to popular social media platforms, such as Instagram and Twitter.ObjectiveThis study aimed to examine the official Instagram and Twitter accounts of Bird and Tier Mobility to determine whether these companies promote and demonstrate the use of safety gear in their posts to their consumers.MethodsPosts to Bird's (n=287) and Tier Mobility's (n=190) official Instagram accounts, as well as Bird's (n=313) and Tier Mobility's (n=67) official Twitter accounts, were collected from November 9, 2018, to October 7, 2019. Rules for coding content of posts were informed by previous research.ResultsAmong posts to Bird's Instagram account, 69.3% (199/287) had a person visible with an e-scooter, 9.1% (26/287) contained persons wearing protective gear, and there were no mentions of protective gear in captions corresponding to the post. Among posts to Tier Mobility's Instagram account, 84.7% (161/190) contained a person visible with an e-scooter, 36.3% (69/190) contained persons wearing protective gear, and 4.2% (8/190) of captions corresponding to posts mentioned protective gear. Among posts to Bird's Twitter account, 71.9% (225/313) had an image, of which 44.0% (99/225) contained a person visible with an e-scooter and 15.1% (34/225) contained persons wearing protective gear. Among posts to Tier Mobility's Twitter account, 78% (52/67) had an image, of which 52% (27/52) contained a person with an e-scooter and 21% (11/52) contained persons wearing protective gear.ConclusionsFindings show that modeling and promoting safety is rare on Bird's and Tier Mobility's official social media accounts, which may contribute to the normalization of unsafe riding practices. Social media platforms may offer a potential avenue for public health officials to intervene with rider safety campaigns for public education.

Dataset Information

Injuries Associated With Standing Electric Scooter Use.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets