A paediatric trauma study of scooter injuries

The objective of this study was to investigate the incidence and describe the nature of non-motorized scooter related injuries in children presenting to the ED. The setting was a paediatric ED of a metropolitan tertiary referral hospital. A prospective observational study of patients aged under 19 years presenting with injuries sustained while using a non-motorized scooter, was undertaken. Clinicians recorded the data in the patient record. Main outcome measures: type of injury sustained; period of experience on the scooter; the use of protective gear; the presence of adult supervision; the place of accident; and the patient outcome. Results showed that 62 eligible patients were recruited over an 18 month period. The incidence of scooter-related injuries was 1.3% of all paediatric trauma presentations. There was a fall in scooter injury presentations over the study period; however, this was not statistically significant. The most common injury sustained using a scooter was an upper limb fracture (41.9%). Closed head injury comprised 8.1% of all scooter related injuries. The majority of patients were not wearing protective gear and were unsupervised at the time of their accident. Most patients (79%) were managed in the ED and discharged. In conclusion, there has been no significant change in scooter injury presentations over the two summer periods of 2000 and 2001. Children presenting to the ED with a scooter related injury tend to be primary school aged, which may have implications on scooter design, age recommendations and safety guidelines.