Role of Prophylactic Biliary Stent in Reducing the Recurrence of Choledocholithiasis and Biliary Complications After Stone Clearance in Patients Awaiting Cholecystectomy-A Multicentric Randomized Controlled Trial (STONE Trial)

Patients with cholelithiasis can have presence of concomitant choledocholithiasis (CDL) in upto 30%. These stones may remain asymptomatic or cause obstructive jaundice and complications like cholangitis and pancreatitis. In situations where there is a failure of CDL clearance during endoscopic retrograde cholangiography (ERC), biliary stenting is recommended to prevent complications. However, the role of prophylactic biliary stenting in situations where CDL clearance has been achieved, and the patient is awaiting cholecystectomy is debatable. One retrospective study showed benefit while a small prospective study and a retrospective study did not show benefit of prophylactic biliary stenting. Moreover, a randomized controlled trial addressing this question is lacking. Hence, we planned this multicenter randomized controlled trial to study the role of a prophylactic biliary stent in recurrence of stones and biliary complications in patients awaiting cholecystectomy after biliary stone clearance.