Statewide retrospective analysis of e-scooter-related emergency department (ED) presentations in Victoria, Australia (January 2022–December 2025), using the Victorian Emergency Minimum Dataset (VEMD) to characterise injury patterns, demographics, health service use, and seasonal trends.
4,694 ED presentations identified over 4 years; annual cases rose from 825 (2022) to 1,373 (2024) and remained high at 1,358 (2025). Falls caused 74.1% of injuries; 67.2% occurred on roads/streets. 38.0% required hospital admission, ~one-third arrived by ambulance, and most were triaged as urgent or emergency. Children aged 2–14 years accounted for 15.4% of presentations; 71.4% of riders were male (mean age 31.1 years).
- No standardised external cause coding for e-scooters in the VEMD; cases identified via text search of narrative fields, risking missed or misclassified cases. - Retrospective, descriptive design without a comparator group limits causal inference about regulatory or infrastructure interventions. - Statewide single-jurisdiction data (Victoria) may not generalise to other Australian states or international settings.
E-scooter injuries generate a substantial, growing ED burden — nearly 40% of patients need admission and one-third arrive by ambulance, so EDs should anticipate high-acuity presentations, especially during warmer months. Clinicians should be alert to e-scooter injuries in children and advocate for helmet use and on-road safety measures.
