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Electric scooters: a quick way to get to the emergency department?

British Dental Journal volume 232, pages 535–537 (2022)Cite this article

Abstract

Introduction Electric scooters (e-scooters) are rife but are yet to be legalised in the UK. The aim of this paper was to investigate whether there had been an increase in the number of e-scooter injuries referred to the oral and maxillofacial surgery (OMFS) service at our unit. We present here what is, to our knowledge, the largest dataset regarding e-scooter-related injuries in the UK.

Method A double cohort study in which details of patients sustaining e-scooter-related injuries that were referred to the OMFS department were collected, prospectively, for a 16-week period in 2020 (investigation period). This was compared with data collected, retrospectively, from the emergency department (ED) referral database for the same date range in 2019 (control period).

Results In the investigation period, 12/649 referrals to OMFS from the ED were for e-scooter-related injuries. There were eight male patients and four female patients with a mean age of 35 years (interquartile range 24-48). Of these, only one patient was wearing a helmet and 8/12 had consumed alcohol. Head and neck injuries sustained included avulsed teeth, mandibular and midface fractures, skull fractures, facial lacerations and cervical spine injuries. One patient died as a result of their injuries. During the control period, 2/997 ED referrals to OMFS were for e-scooter-related injuries (12/649 versus 2/997; Fisher's exact test p <0.001).

Conclusion There was a significant rise in e-scooter-related injuries seen at our major trauma unit compared with 2019. We recommend that e-scooters are subject to at least the same requirements in safety equipment and sobriety as bicycles and that their top speed is limited to 12.5 mph. We hope that these measures will allow the benefits of this technology to be enjoyed while reducing associated morbidity and mortality.

Key points

  • Alerts the reader to evidence of an increasing frequency of dentofacial injuries related to electric scooters in the UK.

  • Alerts the reader to the relative severity of these injuries, in which more complex trauma may accompany dentoalveolar trauma. This is relevant for clinicians in primary care to consider if patients present there first.

  • Provides advice aimed at minimising injuries, which clinicians can consider for themselves, as well as informing their patients, in order to aid injury prevention/health promotion.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Naval Medicine, Defence Medical Services, Crescent Road, Gosport, PO12 2DL, UK; Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department, King´s College Hospital, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 9RS, UK

    Thomas Pepper

  2. Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department, King´s College Hospital, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 9RS, UK

    Matthew Barker, Delia Smyth & Radhika Dua

  3. Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department, King´s College Hospital, Denmark Hill, London, SE5 9RS, UK; King´s College London, University of London, UK

    Matthew Kingham & Kathleen Fan

Authors
  1. Thomas Pepper
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  2. Matthew Barker
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  3. Delia Smyth
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  4. Matthew Kingham
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  5. Radhika Dua
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  6. Kathleen Fan
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Contributions

Thomas Pepper conceived the study, conducted statistical analysis and drafted and revised the manuscript. Matthew Barker, Delia Smyth and Matthew Kingham collected data and drafted the manuscript. Radhika Dua conceived the study and drafted the manuscript. Kathleen Fan conceived the study, supervised the project and drafted and revised the manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thomas Pepper.

Ethics declarations

This study was registered as a service evaluation of treatment of facial trauma at King's College Hospital by the Oral and Maxillofacial Trauma Department during the COVID-19 lockdown period (DENT044-20). This was an observational study and did not require ethical approval according to the NHS Health Research Authority.

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Pepper, T., Barker, M., Smyth, D. et al. Electric scooters: a quick way to get to the emergency department?. Br Dent J 232, 535–537 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41415-022-4153-6

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