Mean opioid consumption is increased 24 months after ICU admission despite the lack of evidence for long-term opioid treatment.

Given the high number of ICU entries and risk of excess mortality for chronic users, preventing opioid misuse is important when improving long-term outcomes after critical care.

Among 204,402 individuals included in the cohort, 22,138 developed chronic opioid use following critical care. Mean opioid consumption peaked after admission followed by a continuous decline without returning to baseline during follow-up of 24 months.

Factors associated with chronic opioid use included high age, female sex, presence of comorbidities, preadmission opioid use, and ICU length of stay greater than 2 days.

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