P3.250: Rides and Risks: Pediatric golf cart related injuries presenting to the emergency department

Background: Due to the growing adoption of golf carts as a means of recreational transport both on and off course, golf cart related accidents have been steadily increasing over the past decade. Previous studies have claimed that >25% of pediatric golf cart related injuries were severe (ISS>15). Our study aims to broaden the epidemiology and describe the golf cart related injuries among the pediatric/young adult population from a national database.

Methods: The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System (NEISS) database was retrospectively analyzed for pediatric/young adult golf cart related injuries ( < 22 years) from 2010 to 2023. Cases were classified as children (<=12 years), adolescents (13-17 years), or young adults (18-21 years). Case narratives were utilized to categorize injury related characteristics. Bivariate analyses were performed to determine demographic and injury characteristics.

Results: 1419 cases were identified for our analysis which corresponds to the national estimates of 53855 (95% CI:51458, 56253) from 2010 to 2023 with a mean of 3846 injuries occurring per year (95% CI: 3337, 4356) by applying appropriate sample weights. The mean age of the population was 11.67(95% CI:11.40, 11.95). Fall from the golf cart (49.79%, 95% CI: 46.37%, 53.22%) was the most common mechanism of injury. Injuries to the head, face and neck regions were most common (44.29%, 95% CI:40.89%, 47.70%). On comparing the mechanism of injury across the body regions it was found that injuries to the head, face and neck were likely to be caused due to fall (52.24%, 95% CI: 47.44%, 57.04%) while lower extremity injuries were liked to be caused by impact related events (36.14%, 95%CL: 31.02%, 41.26%) (p < 0.0001). Collision and cart overturn was the most common sequence of accident (36.12%, 95% CI:32.82%, 39.42%) with a higher occurrence among adolescents (45.82%, 95% CI: 39.79%, 51.84%) than children (29.19%, 95% CI: 24.75%, 33.62%) and young adults (39.06%, 95% CI 31.77%, 47.01%) (p =0.0005). Compared to males (23.97%, 95% CI: 19.93%, 28.00%), females had a significantly higher proportion of injuries to the lower extremities (29.11%, 95% CI: 24.53%, 33.68%). Superficial injuries accounted for 47.84% (95% CL: 43.97%, 50.83%) and occurred more frequently among males (50.74%, 95% CI: 46.03%, 55.44%) than females (43.64%, 95% CI: 38.68%, 48.60%. Children (55.64%, 95% CI: 50.82%, 60.48%) were significantly more likely to be injured due to fall related events compared to adolescents (42.20%, 95% CI:36.26%,48.12%) and young adults (46.31%, 95% CI: 38.28%, 54.34%) (p=0.01).

Conclusion: Injuries were predominantly caused by a fall from the golf cart, particularly in children, highlighting the inadequacy of robust safety features and the deficits in standard regulations. Among adolescents, the most common sequence of accidents were golf cart collisions and cart overturns. Hence, this study emphasizes the requirement for establishing age-appropriate safety measures for golf cart usage.