Study	Reason for exclusion
Antti‐Poika 1988	Not all participants underwent surgery
Avram 2009	Wrong intervention
Batioglu‐Karaaltin 2017	Wrong study design and no intervention
Bejou 2000	Review of article; not primary research
Chiang 1995	Review of article; not primary research
Forsberg 2000	Not all participants underwent surgery
Gentilello 1999	Not all participants underwent surgery. The outcome was re‐trauma, but not complications
Heather 1996	Not all participants underwent surgery
Holloway 2007	Not all participants underwent surgery
Kaka 2017	Wrong study design
Schermer 2006	Not all participants underwent surgery
Schoenfeld 2007	Wrong intervention. No alcohol cessation intervention
Shepard 2016	Not all participants underwent surgery
Shetty 2011	Not all participants underwent surgery
Shourie 2006	Wrong study design; began as a randomized trial, but was changed to a controlled clinical trial
Smith 2003	Not all participants underwent surgery
Sommers 2006	Not all participants underwent surgery
Soria 1981	Review of articles; not primary research
Spies 1995	Wrong intervention. No alcohol cessation intervention
Spies 1996	Wrong intervention. No alcohol cessation intervention
Spies 2006	Wrong intervention. No alcohol cessation intervention
Vagts 2002	Review of articles; not primary research
Watson 1999	Wrong study design