Surgery · Public Health · 1 h ago
US Trauma Registry Study Compares Injuries Across Micromobility Types
A retrospective analysis of 47,102 adults treated at participating US trauma centers compared injuries among bicycle, e-bike, and e-scooter riders. E-scooter injuries were associated with lower overall injury severity and resource use than bicycle injuries, but higher risk of serious head and neck injury.
- Analysis included 47,102 injured adult riders.
- E-scooter riders had higher serious head/neck injury risk.
- Helmet use was associated with fewer craniofacial fractures.
Researchers analyzed 2023–2024 data from the American College of Surgeons National Trauma Data Bank for injured riders aged 18 years or older. The study included 32,100 bicycle riders, 8,744 e-bike riders, and 6,258 e-scooter riders. The primary outcome was severe injury, defined as an Injury Severity Score of 16 or higher; secondary outcomes included regional injuries, resource use, and in-hospital mortality.
Compared with bicycle riders, e-scooter riders had a lower adjusted risk of severe injury (aRR 0.93, 95% CI 0.87–0.99) but a higher risk of serious head or neck injury (aRR 1.10, 95% CI 1.04–1.17). They also had lower risks of serious chest and extremity or pelvic injuries, emergency surgery, early transfusion, and in-hospital mortality. Helmet use was associated with lower craniofacial fracture risk, with the strongest association among e-scooter riders (aRR 0.49, 95% CI 0.41–0.58).
The findings describe associations among riders who reached participating trauma centers; they do not establish that vehicle type or helmet use caused the observed outcomes. The registry-based analysis may not represent all micromobility injuries. The authors say the helmet findings support continued promotion, particularly given the elevated serious head and neck injury risk in e-scooter riders.
In practice
For clinicians treating or counseling injured micromobility riders, the study found that e-scooter riders presenting to participating trauma centers had higher adjusted risk of serious head or neck injury than bicycle riders, despite lower overall severe injury and resource-use measures. Helmet use was associated with lower craniofacial fracture risk, most notably among e-scooter riders. These observational findings support reinforcing helmet use, but do not establish causality or show that the results apply to riders who did not present to trauma centers.
AI-generated clinical interpretation · Not editor-reviewed
Is this summary clinically accurate?
Help fellow clinicians: your rating sends inaccurate summaries straight to our editors.
Sign in to rate this summary →Source
Journal of the American College of Surgeons: Micromobility Injury Patterns and Resource Use in US Trauma Centers ↗This is an automated AI-condensed summary that has not yet been reviewed by an editor. Always consult the full item at the original source.