Injury Severity and Near-Absent Helmet Use in NTDB-Eligible Pediatric E-Scooter Trauma: A Single-Center Descriptive Series

Pediatric e-scooter injuries have risen rapidly, yet single-center data describing injury severity, admission patterns, and helmet use within high-acuity trauma populations remain limited. We describe a single-center retrospective series of 31 National Trauma Data Bank (NTDB)–eligible pediatric patients treated for e-scooter–related injuries at a level-one pediatric trauma center from January 2022 to December 2024. The cohort was predominantly male (26 of 31, 83.9%). Twenty-three patients (74.2%) were admitted—substantially higher than the 5% to 15% reported in broader national cohorts and consistent with NTDB selection for significant trauma. Injuries were minor (ISS 1-9) in 23 patients (74.2%) and moderate or greater (ISS ≥10) in 8 (25.8%); all moderate-or-greater injuries were admitted, and every PICU and operative admission occurred within these higher-severity groups, although the difference from minor injuries did not reach statistical significance (Fisher exact P = 0.08). Notably, no patient was documented as wearing a helmet at the time of injury (unhelmeted 64.5%, unknown 35.5%). Within this NTDB-eligible, level-one cohort, pediatric e-scooter trauma was characterized by a high admission rate and near-absent documented helmet use, reinforcing the importance of helmet promotion and targeted injury-prevention efforts.