Electric scooter sharing systems: An analysis of injury patterns associated with their introduction

Abstract

Background: With the increasing popularity of electric scooters (ES) and the introduction of ES sharing systems in 2017, hospitals are seeing more ES-related injuries. The effects of sharing systems on traumatic injuries are lacking in the literature. We, therefore, sought to describe trends in ES injuries.

Methods: The Nationwide Inpatient Sample was queried for patients hospitalized with ES-related injuries in the United States from 2015 to 2019. Admissions due to ES were divided into two cohorts: before (≤2017) and after (>2018) the introduction of sharing systems. Patients were stratified by injuries sustained, age, gender, and race. Inpatient hospital charges and length of stay were compared. Exclusion criteria included patients older than 65 and patients with neurological disorders. Traumatic injuries were compared after adjusting for age, gender, and race in a multivariate logistic regression analysis.

Results: During the study period, there were 686 admissions, of which 220 remained due to exclusion criteria. There was a consistent increase in ES-related injuries over the years (r = 0.91, p = 0.017). Patients who were injured after the introduction of sharing systems were more likely to sustain facial fractures (OR, 2.63; 95%CI, 1.30-5.32; p = 0.007) after controlling for age, gender, and race. The incidence of lumbar and pelvic fractures was higher following the introduction of such systems (7.1% vs. 0%; p<0.05).

Conclusions: The introduction of ES sharing systems resulted in increased incidence of facial, pelvic, and lumbar fractures. Federal and state regulations need to be implemented to mitigate the detrimental effects of ES sharing systems.

Keywords: E-scooters; Epidemiology; Injuries; Regression analysis; Sharing systems; Trauma.