Evaluation of scooter-related injuries in children

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Abstract

Background/Purpose: The sudden popularity of the “scooter phenomenon” was followed by an increased rate of injuries associated with its use. This study evaluates the circumstances, types, degrees, and mechanisms of injury related to the use of a scooter in the pediatric population. Methods: From January 2000 to February 2001, the emergency files of all the children arriving at the authors' institutions with a diagnosis of “scooter related trauma” were reviewed. Results: One hundred fifty-six cases were recorded; 48% of patients were between 10 and 13 years old; 66.6% were boys. There was a incidence peak in September and October. Trauma locations were as follows: face (47.5%), ankle (17.9%), wrist (17.3%), knee (11.5%), and head trauma (12%). Eighty-five percent healed within 1 to 4 weeks; 16.6% needed hospitalization. Fractures occurred in 31% of cases; 38% of these required surgical treatment. Concerning the mechanisms of injury, 45% occurred on the street and sidewalk, 44% of which resulted from collisions with a motor vehicle, 33% were caused by inefficient braking, and 15% were related to a mechanical problem with the scooter's structure. Conclusions: The authors observed a shift in the children's interest from roller skates toward the scooter. Research on scooter injury prevention needs to be improved, and a program needs to be promoted to reduce the number and the severity of related injuries. For now the authors would recommend head, mainly face, wrist, and ankle protections. J Pediatr Surg 37:755-759. Copyright 2002, Elsevier Science (USA). All rights reserved.

Section snippets

Materials and methods

We reviewed the clinical records of all children up to 16 years of age with a diagnosis of scooter-related trauma who arrived at the pediatric emergency department from January 1, 2000 to February 28, 2001 in the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV) as well as the Hopital de l'Enfance (HEL) in Lausanne, Switzerland.

A datasheet was created including the identity of the patient (name, age, sex), the mechanism or the circumstances of the accident, the type of injuries (cutaneous,

Results

One hundred fifty-six cases of scooter-related injuries in children were recorded in a period of 1 year in our institutions. Two patients were injured twice in different accidents. No scooter-related injuries were admitted until April 2000 when the first case appeared followed by an increasing number of accidents starting in the month of June. Fifty-one percent of the cases occurred in September and October 2000 (Fig 1).

. Monthly occurrence: Percentage of scooter related injuries in children from

Discussion

The first scooters appeared by the 1900s, and some of them were already foldable with inflatable or plain tires and brakes. No modification occurred until 1999, when a light-weight aluminium structure (less than 5 kg), foldable, “easy to carry and to store” vehicle made its appearance. Many of the injuries with this new type of scooter are related to the scooter structure itself. The synthetic low-friction wheels were borrowed from in-line rollerskates. These polyurethane 10-cm-diameter wheels

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Address reprint requests to Olivier Reinberg, MD, Department of Pediatric Surgery, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, CH 1011 Lausanne-CHUV, Switzerland.

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