E-Scooter-Related Injuries Occurring More Frequently and Increasingly Costly

WEDNESDAY, Aug. 21, 2024 (HealthDay News) — Electric scooter-related injuries are increasing in frequency and treatment costs and occur most commonly during nighttime and weekend hours, according to a study published online Aug. 13 in Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research.

Riley Kahan, from the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Aurora, and colleagues examined the epidemiology of e-scooter-related injuries in Denver over time, associated hospital charges, and circumstances associated with these injuries. Analysis included retrospective data from 2,424 patients treated at a level 1 trauma center for e-scooter-related injuries from Jan. 1, 2020, to Nov. 1, 2023.

The researchers found that the number of annual e-scooter-related injuries increased since 2020 (273 versus 736 in 2021, 758 in 2022, and 657 in the first 10 months of 2023). The mean annual sum of hospital charges for treatment of e-scooter-related injuries was $10.4 million ($6.4 million in 2020, $11.5 million in 2021, $11.9 million in 2022, and $10.9 million in the first 10 months of 2023). Of all e-scooter-related injuries, 45 percent occurred between 7 p.m. and 3 a.m., and 44 percent occurred over the weekend. Treatment of e-scooter-related injuries at night had higher hospital charges (median, $10,459) versus early morning ($4,973) or daytime hours ($4,871), as did treatment of patients who were intoxicated ($13,404) versus not intoxicated ($6,132).

“These results may help inform e-scooter awareness initiatives and policy reform to place restrictions on e-scooter use during periods of highest injury frequency and health care charges,” the authors write.

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