Association of opioid utilization in the intensive care unit and opioid prescriptions at hospital discharge in opioid-naïve non-surgical patients who received enhanced oxygen therapy.

Purpose: To evaluate the association between opioid utilization in community-based intensive care units and the continuation of opioid prescriptions at hospital discharge for non-surgical, opioid-naïve patients.

Materials And Methods: This nested case-control study included adults without opioid prescriptions 45 days before hospital admission who had intensive care unit stays of 48 h or longer and received enhanced oxygen therapy. Patients were excluded if they had opioid allergies, cancer, in-hospital death, palliative care, major surgery, or substance use disorders.