Early recovery following traumatic brain injury and alcohol withdrawal management.

Purpose: To compare recovery experienced during inpatient rehabilitation among individuals with traumatic brain injury (TBI) based on whether their acute care included the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment for Alcohol (CIWA) protocol.

Design: Participants included 234 individuals with TBI who completed inpatient rehabilitation at a TBI Model Systems site. Of these, 67 patients were treated using the CIWA protocol (TBI + CIWA); 167 patients were treated for TBI alone (TBI only).