Preoperative interventions to reduce alcohol consumption in adult patients undergoing elective surgery: a scoping review protocol

Hazardous alcohol consumption is a well-established risk factor for adverse postoperative outcomes, including increased rates of infection, bleeding, cardiovascular complications, delirium, and prolonged hospital stays. Evidence suggests that even short-term reductions in alcohol intake prior to surgery may reduce perioperative risk. As a result, alcohol reduction has been identified as a potentially modifiable factor within preoperative optimisation and prehabilitation programmes aimed at improving surgical outcomes. This project will conduct a scoping review to map the existing evidence on preoperative interventions designed to reduce alcohol consumption in adult patients undergoing elective surgery. Preoperative alcohol reduction strategies vary widely and may include brief advice, behavioural counselling, motivational interviewing, digital health interventions, structured abstinence programmes, or pharmacological support. However, current research in this area is fragmented, with studies differing in intervention design, patient populations, and outcome measures. The purpose of this review is to systematically identify and describe the types of interventions that have been implemented, the surgical populations that have been studied, and the alcohol-related and perioperative outcomes that have been reported. Particular attention will be given to cardiac, neurosurgical, and orthopaedic surgical populations. Using the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology for scoping reviews, relevant studies will be identified through a comprehensive database and grey literature search, screened by multiple reviewers, and charted using a predefined data extraction form. The findings will be synthesised descriptively and presented in narrative and tabular formats to provide an overview of the extent and nature of research in this field. The expected outcomes of this review are to identify the range of preoperative alcohol reduction interventions currently reported in the literature, highlight patterns and differences across surgical specialties, and identify gaps where further research is needed. This work may help inform future research, support the development of preoperative optimisation strategies, and contribute to improving perioperative care for patients with hazardous alcohol use.