Background: Since the introduction of electric-scooter (e-scooter) mobile applications, there has been a marked increase in e-scooter-related injury. On January 19, 2022, the City of Miami revoked permits to five major mobile applications for violation of safety protocols.
Objectives: The purpose of our study was to assess the effects of this notice on the orthopedic patients seen at our corresponding Level I trauma center.
Methods: Institutional Review Board approval was obtained for this study. A retrospective chart review was performed including all patients with orthopedic injuries at our Level I trauma center between July 19, 2021 and July 19, 2022. These dates include 6 months prior to and after the major e-scooter operators ceased use in Miami. SPSS statistical software version 28.0.0 (SPSS, IBM, Armonk, NY) was utilized for all statistical analysis.
Results: There were 2558 patients in the prenotice cohort, and 2492 patients in the postnotice cohort. After the notice, there was a significant decrease in the number of patients that presented to our institution due to injuries caused by e-scooters (2.8% vs. 1.8% patients; p = 0.021). Patients with injuries caused by e-scooters had a significantly lower age (38 vs. 42, respectively; p = 0.034) and were more likely to be male (79.3% vs. 67.4% male, respectively; p = 0.007) than patients with other orthopedic injuries.
Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the 2022 notice revoking the major mobile application operators from the City of Miami resulted in a significant decrease in the number of orthopedic cases due to e-scooter-related injury at the corresponding Level I trauma center.
Keywords: E-scooter; Electric scooter; Local legislation; Orthopedic trauma.
Published by Elsevier Inc.