Post-acute rehabilitation effects on functional outcome and discharge disposition of people with severe traumatic brain injury.

: This study's purpose was to document the effect of post-acute rehabilitation on functional independence of adults with moderate or severe traumatic brain injury (TBI). : Retrospective analysis of admission and discharge scores on the () and () as well as discharge disposition was performed for 271 adults admitted to post-acute rehabilitation between 2012 and 2017. : Discharge disposition was home for 83.39% of cases. Home discharge cases admitted to rehabilitation significantly sooner after injury than supported living discharge cases. Also, home discharge cases achieved significantly better and scores both at admission and discharge than supported discharge cases. Analyses split by program duration revealed cases with ≤90 day stays were closer to injury upon admission and had significantly better admission and discharge and scores than those with longer stays. Although and change scores for home versus supported living discharge did not differ significantly, change scores for home discharge cases with ≤90-day programs were significantly smaller than those with >90-day programs. : Findings support the notion that providing intensive post-acute rehabilitation may increase the functional independence of people with moderate or severe TBI.