Study	Reason for exclusion
Gale 1988	Randomised by flipping a coin Not intention‐to‐treat About 300 participants randomised to either vein patch or primary closure: 194 participants had the operation to which they were randomised, while the remaining participants crossed over, for reasons not disclosed in the publication. Results only available for the 194 participants who remained in the group to which they were originally randomised.
Hertzer 1987	Non‐random comparison of patching performed by one surgeon and primary closure performed by other surgeons in the same institute (personal communication with Dr Hertzer)
Ignatenko 2019	Randomised comparative study.  The "first group (n = 100) included people who underwent autoarterial remodelling of bifurcation of the common carotid artery, the second group (n = 100) included people who underwent “classic” CEA with xenopericardial patch closure."

CEA: carotid endarterectomy.