von Oelreich E, et al. - In order to determine the role of trauma as a gateway to opioid use, researchers conducted the study investigating the correlation of traumatic injury with chronic opioid use and accompanying increased long-term mortality. They analyzed some 13,309 injured patients and 70,621 controls. Following linkage to Swedish health registers, assessment of opioid consumption among these was done before and after trauma. The analysis revealed a correlation of traumatic injury with chronic opioid use; this use was linked with age, low level of education, somatic co-morbidity, psychiatric co-morbidity, pretrauma opioid use, and severe injury. They identified an excess risk of death in the 6–18 months after trauma among these patients.