The kick with the stick

Objective-To investigate the incidence and type of severe microscooter rela ted injuries in adults. Method-Data were collected between January and September 2000 from the Univ ersity Hospital Berne, the only referral centre for major trauma in that ci ty, using the software package Qualicare, which connects clinical data with categorised keywords, allowing the immediate localisation of patient group s with defined diagnosis or other clinical information. Results-Only 0.2% of the patients treated had suffered a microscooter accid ent. There were five head injuries: three facial lacerations, one fractured mandible, and one cerebral concussion. One patient showed clinical signs o f a cervical whiplash injury without radiological findings. There were also two cases of finger laceration and two of muscular contusions of the lower extremities. Conclusions-Although only a small proportion of the trauma cases were the r esult of riding microscooters, a system of injury surveillance should be st arted. Furthermore, protective gear should be worn particularly when micros cooters are ridden in the street.