Refereed journal article or data article (A1)

Urban drinking and driving: comparison of electric scooter and bicycle related accidents in facial fracture patients




List of AuthorsMurros Olli-Jussi, Puolakkainen Tero, Abio Anne, Thorén Hanna, Snäll Johanna

PublisherMEDICINA ORAL S L

Publication year2023

JournalMedicina Oral Patologia Oral Y Cirugia Bucal

Journal name in sourceMEDICINA ORAL PATOLOGIA ORAL Y CIRUGIA BUCAL

Journal acronymMED ORAL PATOL ORAL

Volume number28

Issue number3

Start pageE238

End pageE246

Number of pages9

ISSN1698-6946

DOIhttp://dx.doi.org/10.4317/medoral.25662

URLhttps://dx.doi.org/doi:10.4317/medoral.25662

Self-archived copy’s web addresshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10181023/


Abstract

Background: In recent years, electric scooters (e-scooter) have emerged as an alternative mode of urban transport due to their availability and effortless use. However, e-scooter-related trauma and injuries, especially to the head, have received wide media coverage and raised public concern about their safety. We aim to determine and com-pare clinically relevant variables, incidence, and severity between bicycle and e-scooter-related facial fractures and potential protective measures for injury prevention.

Material and Methods: This retrospective study comprised all patients admitted to a tertiary trauma center with bicycle or e-scooter-related facial fractures between January 2019 and October 2020. Patient-and injury-related variables, including demographics, injury mechanisms, helmet use, influence of alcohol, types of facial injuries, types of other injuries, given treatment, and hospital stay, were collected, analysed, and compared between bicycle and e-scooter injuries.

Results: Altogether 169 patients with facial fractures, 124 bicycle-related injuries (73.4%) and 45 e-scooter-related injuries (26.6%) were included. Alcohol involvement was significantly higher in e-scooter patients (88.9%) than in bicycle patients (31.5%) (p<0.001). Driving under the influence of alcohol was associated with driving without a helmet in both groups (p<0.001). In multivariate analyses, e-scooter accidents were 18 times more likely to occur under the influence of alcohol (OR 17.85, p<0.001) and were more likely to involve collision with a stationary object (OR 3.81, p= 0.028). E-scooter patients were significantly younger (OR 0.95, p<0.001) and had significantly more cranial fractures (OR 10.15, p= 0.014) than bicycle patients.

Conclusions: Compared with patients in bicycle accidents, facial fracture patients injured in e-scooter accidents are younger, are more likely under the influence of alcohol, and sustain more severe craniofacial skeleton fractures. Our results for both groups of patients advocate stricter adherence to helmet and road safety legislation as well as public education for injury prevention.


Last updated on 2023-08-06 at 08:31