Injured moped riders who required admission to hospital in Sweden from 1987 to 1994

Objectives: To find out the incidence, extent of injury, medical consequences, and mortality rate of moped riders involved in crashes in Sweden. Design: Retrospective case study. Setting: The Swedish Hospital Discharge Register (SHDR). Subjects: 4716 moped riders, a total of 5857 admissions to Swedish hospitals from 1987-94. Interventions: Statistical analysis of the Register. Main outcome measures: Incidence of injured moped riders in Sweden, mortality rate, types of injuries, and medical consequences. Results: From 1987 to 1994, Swedish hospitals admitted 4716 moped riders (5857 admissions) injured in crashes, which corresponds to a mean of 8.5 injured/100 000 population a year. Of these 3993 were male (85%) and 723 female (15%), with a median age of 16 years (range 3-93). Twenty-four percent of those admitted to hospital spent more than a week there. The annual number of injured moped riders did not change significantly during this period. The total number of deaths in hospital was 59 (1%). Among those who died in hospital, 32 (54%) had head injuries, 16 (27%) fractures, and 5 (9%) abdominal or thoracic injuries. Conclusion: The number of injured moped riders in Sweden is low. Fractures of the extremities were most common, followed by injuries to the head and brain. The usual victim was a teenager or young man. Of the patients treated in hospital few died, most of whom were elderly men.