Electric Scooter–Related Upper Limb Fractures: Analysis of 458 Cases

Shai Factor*, Or Shaked, Franck Atlan, Tamir Pritsch, Ittai Shichman

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

10 Scopus citations

Abstract

Purpose: To perform an analysis of electric scooter (e-scooter)–related upper limb fractures (ULFs), which have increased dramatically in parallel with the rapid rise in the use of e-scooters and shared e-scooter services in recent years. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the medical charts of e-scooter–related emergency department visits between January 2017 and January 2020 at a level I trauma center. All patients with ULFs were included in the study, and their data were analyzed for demographics, fracture diagnosis, associated injuries, and required surgical treatment. Results: This study included 356 patients (50% men) with 458 ULFs, of which 23 (5%) were open fractures. The mean age of the cohort was 32.9 years (standard deviation, 10.1 years). The most common mechanism of injury was rider fall (92.1%). The nondominant hand was injured in 53.1% of cases, and 32.1% of all fractures were treated with surgery. A total of 120 (33.7%) patients sustained more than 1 ipsilateral ULF, and 27 (7.6%) patients had a concomitant contralateral ULF. Radial head fracture was the most common fracture type (n = 123, 26.8%), of which 16 (13%) were bilateral. The fifth ray was injured most frequently among the metacarpal and phalangeal fractures (n = 33, 47.1%). Most of the nonextremity-associated injuries were those of the head and maxillofacial bones. Conclusions: The most common ULF associated with e-scooters was the radial head fracture. Physicians should be alert to and seek associated fractures during initial assessments of e-scooter–related upper limb injuries. Further investigation may be warranted to evaluate the effectiveness of protective measures in reducing the number of injuries. Type of study/level of evidence: Therapeutic IV.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)197.e1-197.e6
JournalJournal of Hand Surgery
Volume48
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 2023

Keywords

  • Electric scooter
  • e-scooter
  • forearm
  • fracture
  • hand
  • prevention

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