Hospitalizations for e-scooter accidents increase in kids
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
The number of accidents involving electric scooters, as well as ensuing hospitalizations, significantly increased among children over the last decade, a recent study found.
Harrison Hayward, MD, an emergency medicine fellow at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., said in a press release that the upward trend may be connected to a rise in rideshare e-scooter apps.
“Our study has characterized the spectrum of injuries that occur in children, which helps emergency room doctors prepare for taking care of them and helps parents and families to practice better safety,” Hayward said.
The researchers used the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System to identify e-scooter-associated injuries in patients aged zero to 18 years who sought care at more than 100 U.S. hospitals from 2011 to 2020.
Of the 1,446 patients identified, the average age at the time of incident was 11.1 years; 59.3% (n = 858) were male. More than 90% of patients (n = 1,318) were discharged, with 7.1% (n = 102) being admitted.
The researchers found that the most common body part injured was upper extremity at 34.23% (n = 495), while fractures (n = 57; 55.9%) were the most frequent primary diagnosis among admitted patients. No fatalities were reported.
Hayward and colleagues noted that the proportion of patients who needed hospitalization jumped from 4.17% in 2011 to 12.92% in 2020. Those aged 13 to 18 years saw a particularly high spike in hospitalizations, from 19.17% in 2011 to 41.67% in 2020.
Citing that 10% of injuries suffered were to the head, Hayward said that children should always wear helmets when riding e-scooters.
“Research has broadly demonstrated that helmets save lives for bicycle riders, and we should think similarly about e-scooters,” he said.
References:
- Hayward H. National trends in pediatric e-scooter injury. Presented at: American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference & Exhibition; Oct. 7-11, 2022; Anaheim.
- Number of children hospitalized for e-scooter injuries surge from 2011-2020. https://www.aap.org/en/news-room/news-releases/conference-news-releases/number-of-children-hospitalized-for-e-scooter-injuries-surge-from-2011-2020/. Published Oct. 7, 2022. Accessed Oct. 7, 2022.