Objective: As the use of electric scooters increased in Italy in the last years, we aimed to estimate the burden of accidents caused by this micro-mobility vehicle and identify characteristics, severity, and type of injuries. Methods: We conducted a case series analysis of news reports about electric scooter crashes occurring in Italy from January 1, 2019 to September 30, 2020. Events were included when a road traffic accident involved an electric scooter and caused damages or injuries to the driver or others. Results: We identified 96 road accidents involving electric scooters in Italy. The mean age of patients was 30 ± 16 years, and 79% (n = 71/90) were male. Of the 96 patients, only two (2%) were driving an electric scooter with a helmet, and three (3%) were driving while intoxicated. In 68% (n = 62/94) of cases, the incident was caused by a collision with another vehicle or a pedestrian, and 30% (n = 18/96) were transported with life-threatening injuries to the emergency department. In 15% (n = 14/96), the emergency medical service physician was dispatched to the scene. Head trauma was the most common injury (60%, n = 32/53). Patients who had life-threatening conditions were more likely to have head trauma than those who did not (82% [n = 9/11] vs. 55% [n = 23/42], P = 0.10). Polytrauma was significantly more common in patients with life-threatening conditions than in patients with no life-threatening conditions (36% [n = 4/11] vs. 5% [n = 2/42], P < 0.01). Fifteen percent of patients (n = 12/81) were admitted to the intensive care unit; only one death was reported. Conclusion Road traffic accidents involving electric scooters often result in serious injuries, including head trauma and polytrauma, necessitating the involvement of an emergency medical service physician and intensive care unit admission in a non-negligible percentage of instances.

OBJECTIVES: Surgical management of children with chronic otitis media with effusion (OME) includes tympanostomy tube insertion or adenoidectomy, alone or with myringotomy and tube insertion. The aim of this study was to compare the effectiveness of transoral microdebrider endoscopic-assisted adenoidectomy (TOMEA) and traditional adenoidectomy in the management of children with mild hearing loss due to OME and chronic adenoiditis. METHODS: This prospective, double-blind and controlled study involved 120 consecutive patients aged 4-12 years, who were randomised 1:1 to undergo TOMEA or traditional adenoidectomy under general anesthesia. All the patients underwent a complete otolaryngological examination, including nasopharyngeal fibre endoscopy (NFE), pneumatic otoscopy, otomicroscopy, tympanometry and supraliminar tonal audiometry, upon enrolment, and three and nine months postoperatively. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences in age or gender distribution between the TOMEA group (mean age, 4.9±1.1 years; 53.3% males) and the traditional adenoidectomy group (mean age, 5.3±0.9 years; 56.7% males). Both procedures led to a significant improvement in choanal patency (P<0.01) and all of the otological and audiological parameters (P<0.01) 3 and 9 months postoperatively, although postoperative NFE showed that the mean percentage of residual choanal obstruction was significantly less in the TOMEA group (P=0.02). There was no significant between-group difference in the percentage of children with tympanic membrane changes, but the postoperative prevalence of children with a type B tympanogram was significantly lower in the TOMEA group after 3 (15.0% vs. 31.7%, P=0.05) and 9 months (18.3% vs. 38.3%, P=0.02), as was the percentage of children with mild conductive hearing loss (3.3% vs. 23.3%, P<0.01; and 8.3% vs. 28.3%, P<0.01). CONCLUSION: Although both TOMEA and traditional adenoidectomy are effective in treating children with mild hearing loss due to adenoidal hypertrophy and OME, the former achieves the greater reduction in residual adenoidal hypertrophy and better audiological outcomes.
Acoustic Impedance Tests ; Adenoidectomy* ; Adenoids ; Anesthesia, General ; Audiometry ; Child* ; Endoscopy ; Hearing Loss* ; Hearing Loss, Conductive ; Hearing* ; Humans ; Hypertrophy ; Middle Ear Ventilation ; Otitis Media with Effusion* ; Otitis Media* ; Otitis* ; Otoscopy ; Prevalence ; Prospective Studies ; Tympanic Membrane