Injury Patterns Associated with Personal Mobility Devices



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Abstract

Abstract

Background: Personal mobility devices (PMDs) have become ubiquitous “last-mile” transport solutions in large metropolitan areas, and PMD-related trauma has rapidly entered the routine workload of emergency trauma services over the past few years. Between 2020 and 2024 the Russian e-scooter fleet expanded more than ten-fold, the number of users fourteen-fold, and the number of rides twenty-six-fold. This growth has been accompanied by a sharp rise in injuries: during the first nine months of 2024, 3 897 road-traffic incidents involving PMDs were recorded, resulting in 4 052 casualties and 44 deaths—an increase of 837 %, 825 %, and 340 %, respectively, compared with 2021. Nevertheless, systematic data on injury typology and risk factors remain limited: official police reports capture only collisions with motor vehicles or events causing severe bodily harm, whereas single-vehicle falls are documented solely in medical records.

Aims: To characterise PMD-related injuries and analyse the medical and social aspects of this problem in order to develop comprehensive injury-prevention measures.

Materials and methods: A retrospective review of 170 medical records of patients admitted between May 2021 and May 2025 was performed.

Results: PMD-related admissions peaked in the autumn–spring period. Most patients were men (n = 121; 71.1 %) aged 25–44 years (n = 117; 68.8 %). According to the Injury Severity Score, the majority of injuries were minor (median 4 [IQR 4–9]). In total, 262 traumatic lesions were identified in 170 patients. Upper-extremity injuries predominated (n = 108; 41.2 %), followed by lower-extremity injuries (n = 88; 33.6 %), chest trauma (n = 12; 4.6 %), and soft-tissue wounds/contusions (n = 54; 20.6 %). Multiple extremity injuries were diagnosed in 40 patients (23.5 %). Combined craniocerebral and craniofacial trauma was observed in 127 patients (74.6 %). Surgical management of fractures was required in 162 cases (93.8 %). Expert review indicated that even apparently minor injuries necessitated a multidisciplinary approach because the concurrence of fractures and traumatic brain injury increased the risk of complications.

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About the authors

Karen A. Egiazaryan

Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University; Pirogov City Clinical Hospital No. 1

Email: egkar@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-6680-9334
SPIN-code: 5488-5307

MD, Dr. Sci. (Medicine), Professor

Russian Federation, Moscow; Moscow

Maria V. Lyadova

Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University; Pirogov City Clinical Hospital No. 1; Bureau of Forensic Medical Examination

Email: mariadoc1@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-9214-5615
SPIN-code: 7636-6120

MD, Dr. Sci. (Medicine), Professor

Russian Federation, Moscow; Moscow; Moscow

A. V Liadova

The M.V. Lomonosov Moscow state university

Email: annaslm@mail.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-2820-8589
SPIN-code: 6576-4499

candidate of historical sciences, senior researcher of the chair of modern sociology of the sociological faculty

119991 Moscow, Russia

Vladislav Y. Bystrenko

Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Education «N.I. Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University» of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation (неофициально — Pirogov Russian National Research Medical University)

Author for correspondence.
Email: vlad.bystrenko@yandex.ru
ORCID iD: 0009-0009-1254-8798
Russian Federation

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