Prior to cholecystectomy it is important to assess the common duct for choledocholithiasis. Given that a proportion of common duct stones will pass without incident and that methods of removal of these stones are potentially morbid, it would be very useful to have a test that identified only those stones that need intervention. The present study was designed to assess whether a negative magnetic resonance cholangiopancreaticogram (MRCP) is able to reliably exclude clinically relevant common duct stones.
