Electric-Scooter- and Bicycle-Related Trauma in a Hungarian Level-1 Trauma Center-A Retrospective 1-Year Study.

Background/

Objectives

In recent years, electric scooters have gained widespread popularity as an easy and affordable mode of transport in urban areas worldwide. Simultaneously, trauma centers have observed an increasing number of associated injuries to users. While injury patterns associated with other vehicles are now well-researched, electric-scooter-related injuries are a new topic in the literature. Our study aims to investigate the differences in injury patterns and other critical crash characteristics among riders of bicycles, electric scooters, and scooters.

Methods

This one-year retrospective observational study examined patients who sustained injuries while riding bicycles, electric scooters, or scooters between April 2021 and March 2022 at Hungary's largest trauma center in Budapest. During this one-year period, we identified 1938 patients, 1378 cyclists, 370 electric scooter users, and 190 scooter users. Basic demographic information, recorded injury type and severity, time of day the injury occurred, and alcohol usage were recorded as outcome measures.

Results

While 4.6% of cyclists and 5.8% of scooter riders had consumed alcohol, 26.8% of electric scooter riders were under the influence of alcohol at the time of their crash. Of electric-scooter-related injuries, 45.8% occurred at night, compared to only 9.2% and 14.1% of bike and scooter-related injuries, respectively. E-scooter crashes constituted 19.1% of total cases but surged to 52.3% at night. Patients under the influence of alcohol were much more likely to experience mild head injuries (p < 0.0001) and severe head injuries (p < 0.0001), but less likely to suffer mild limb injuries (p < 0.0001) and severe limb injuries (p < 0.0001) compared with sober patients. Cyclists had significantly 3 times fewer cases of severe head trauma than those injured while using electric scooters (p = 0.0166).

Conclusions

The study highlights a significant risk of severe craniofacial injuries in e-scooter users after consuming alcohol, exceeding that in sober riders and cyclists. Predominantly occurring at night, these injuries are closely linked with alcohol use. The findings advocate for mandatory helmet laws and stricter regulations on e-scooter use to enhance safety, especially at night.