{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,31]],"date-time":"2026-07-31T20:02:39Z","timestamp":1785528159674,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":34,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,26]],"date-time":"2026-05-26T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779753600000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,30]],"date-time":"2026-07-30T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1785369600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":65,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100001734","name":"Copenhagen University","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100001734","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Porc Health Manag"],"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Identifying evidence of peri-mortem diarrhoea during necropsy is important for both clinical herd management and research. In live pigs, diarrhoea is typically assessed by inspection of faecal pools on the pen floor scoring of faecal rectal samples, including cotton-swabs, but these methods depend on the availability of faecal material and are therefore often not applicable at necropsy. This study aimed to evaluate intestinal content characteristics and perianal faecal staining as post-mortem indicators of peri-mortem diarrhoea. These indicators were compared with cotton-swab faecal scoring using faecal dry-matter content as a reference. Furthermore, associations with enteric pathogens detected by PCR were investigated.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods and results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      A total of 145 pigs from a Danish commercial herd were monitored from birth until 10 weeks of age and euthanised in age-stratified batches for post-mortem examinations. Intestinal content from duodenum, jejunum, ileum, caecum, and colon was evaluated for consistency and colour using categorical scales and compared with perianal faecal staining, faecal scores obtained by the cotton-swab method, faecal dry-matter percentage, and pathogen detections in faecal samples by high-throughput real-time PCR. Colonic content consistency and perianal faecal staining were strongly associated, and in all pigs with watery colonic content a perianal faecal staining was observed. Colonic content consistency corresponded well with faecal dry-matter percentage categories, with mucoid, runny and watery consistencies indicating diarrheic cases (sensitivity: 87%, specificity: 55%). Jejunal content consistency showed little to no association with cotton-swab faecal scores, indicating limited value as an indicator of peri-mortem diarrhoea. Pre-weaning piglets predominantly showed lighter (yellow\u2013green), firmer intestinal contents, whereas post-weaning animals displayed darker and looser contents, particularly in the large intestine. Interobserver reliability was high for consistency scoring (Krippendorff\u2019s \u03b1\u2009&gt;\u20090.80 across most segments) but low for colour scoring (\u03b1\u2009&lt;\u20090.64). Dark colonic content was associated with PCR detection of\n                      <jats:italic>Lawsonia intracellularis<\/jats:italic>\n                      and\n                      <jats:italic>Brachyspira pilosicoli<\/jats:italic>\n                      , while yellow coloration showed an indirect association with detection of\n                      <jats:italic>Clostridium perfringens \u03b1<\/jats:italic>\n                      and\n                      <jats:italic>\u03b22<\/jats:italic>\n                      toxin genes.\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusions<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Post-mortem assessment of colonic content consistency represent a promising, practical and reproducible indicator of peri-mortem diarrhoea, but tending to identify a higher prevalence of diarrheic cases compared to diarrhoea defined by dry-matter percentage. Colonic content consistency also showed a strong association with perianal faecal staining. In contrast, jejunal content consistency showed no diagnostic value as an indicator of peri-mortem diarrhoea. Visual assessment of intestinal content colour demonstrated poor interobserver reproducibility, and any observed associations with enteric pathogens should therefore be interpreted with caution. Overall, these findings support the use of colonic content consistency and perianal faecal staining as necropsy-based indicators for detection of peri-mortem diarrhoea.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1186\/s40813-026-00523-3","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,26]],"date-time":"2026-05-26T14:24:02Z","timestamp":1779805442000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Comparative evaluation of post-mortem methods for detection of diarrhoea in early-life piglets"],"prefix":"10.1186","volume":"12","author":[{"given":"Cecilie Brandt","family":"Becker","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Malene Kjelin","family":"Morsing","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Julie Raundahl","family":"Laursen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Emma Amalie Kortemand","family":"Hansen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jens Peter","family":"Nielsen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Merete","family":"Fredholm","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nicole Bakkeg\u00e5rd","family":"Goecke","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mette Sif","family":"Hansen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"S\u00f8ren Saxmose","family":"Nielsen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Henrik Elvang","family":"Jensen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,26]]},"reference":[{"key":"523_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"338","DOI":"10.3390\/ani13030338","volume":"13","author":"A Luppi","year":"2023","unstructured":"Luppi A, D\u2019Annunzio G, Torreggiani C, Martelli P. Diagnostic Approach to enteric disorders in pigs. Animals. 2023;13:338.","journal-title":"Animals"},{"key":"523_CR2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Neupane R, Workman R, Hammer DH. Epidemiology of diseases - Intestinal infections: Overview. In: Quah SR, editor. Encyclopedia of Public Health. 3rd edition. San Diego; Academic Press; 2025. pp. 393\u2013411.","DOI":"10.1016\/B978-0-323-99967-0.00078-8"},{"key":"523_CR3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"33","DOI":"10.1186\/s40813-023-00325-x","volume":"9","author":"E\u00d8 Eriksen","year":"2023","unstructured":"Eriksen E\u00d8, Kudirkiene E, Barington K, Goecke NB, Blirup-Plum SA, Nielsen JP, et al. An observational field study of porcine post-weaning diarrhea: Clinical and microbiological findings, and fecal pH-measurements as a potential diagnostic tool. Porcine Health Manage. 2023;9:33.","journal-title":"Porcine Health Manage"},{"issue":"4","key":"523_CR4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"313","DOI":"10.1016\/j.aninu.2017.06.003","volume":"3","author":"AJ Moeser","year":"2017","unstructured":"Moeser AJ, Pohl CS, Rajput M. Weaning stress and gastrointestinal barrier development: Implications for lifelong gut health in pigs. Anim Nutr. 2017;3(4):313\u201321.","journal-title":"Anim Nutr"},{"key":"523_CR5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"181","DOI":"10.1016\/j.envint.2018.02.007","volume":"114","author":"J Jensen","year":"2018","unstructured":"Jensen J, Kyvsgaard NC, Battisti A, Baptiste KE. Environmental and public health related risk of veterinary zinc in pig production - Using Denmark as an example. Environ Int. 2018;114:181\u201390.","journal-title":"Environ Int"},{"key":"523_CR6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"567","DOI":"10.3390\/antibiotics4040567","volume":"4","author":"AD Wales","year":"2015","unstructured":"Wales AD, Davies RH. Co-selection of resistance to antibiotics, biocides and heavy metals, and its relevance to foodborne pathogens. Antibiotics. 2015;4:567\u2013604.","journal-title":"Antibiotics"},{"issue":"2","key":"523_CR7","first-page":"533","volume":"15","author":"MO Ahmed","year":"2025","unstructured":"Ahmed MO, Abouzeed YM, Daw MA. Global initiatives to phase-out colistin use in food-producing animals. Open Veterinary J. 2025;15(2):533\u201340.","journal-title":"Open Veterinary J"},{"key":"523_CR8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"64","DOI":"10.1186\/s13028-015-0156-5","volume":"57","author":"N Weber","year":"2015","unstructured":"Weber N, Nielsen JP, Jakobsen AS, Pedersen LL, Hansen CF, Pedersen KS. Occurrence of diarrhoea and intestinal pathogens in non-medicated nursery pigs. Acta Vet Scand. 2015;57:64.","journal-title":"Acta Vet Scand"},{"key":"523_CR9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"47","DOI":"10.1186\/s12917-024-03888-1","volume":"20","author":"E\u00d8 Eriksen","year":"2024","unstructured":"Eriksen E\u00d8, Sejersen MF, Pedersen KS. The cotton swab method: an accurate and less invasive way to assess fecal consistency in weaned pigs. BMC Vet Res. 2024;20:47.","journal-title":"BMC Vet Res"},{"key":"523_CR10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2251","DOI":"10.3390\/ani13142251","volume":"13","author":"BU Metzler-Zebeli","year":"2023","unstructured":"Metzler-Zebeli BU, Lerch F, Yosi F, V\u00f6tterl J, Ehmig J, Koger S, et al. Temporal microbial dynamics in feces discriminate by nutrition, fecal color, consistency and sample type in suckling and newly weaned piglets. Animals. 2023;13:2251.","journal-title":"Animals"},{"key":"523_CR11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"288","DOI":"10.1016\/j.prevetmed.2010.11.016","volume":"98","author":"KS Pedersen","year":"2011","unstructured":"Pedersen KS, Toft N. Intra- and inter-observer agreement when using a descriptive classification scale for clinical assessment of faecal consistency in growing pigs. Prev Vet Med. 2011;98:288\u201391.","journal-title":"Prev Vet Med"},{"key":"523_CR12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"47","DOI":"10.1186\/s40813-024-00396-4","volume":"10","author":"VL Witjes","year":"2024","unstructured":"Witjes VL, Veldkamp F, Velkers FC, de Jong IC, Meijer E, Rebel JMJ, et al. Early behavioral indicators of aberrant feces in newly-weaned piglets. Porcine Health Manage. 2024;10:47.","journal-title":"Porcine Health Manage"},{"key":"523_CR13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"283","DOI":"10.1111\/j.1574-695X.1999.tb01249.x","volume":"23","author":"RR Marquardt","year":"1999","unstructured":"Marquardt RR, Jin LZ, Kim JW, Fang L, Frohlich AA, Baidoo SK. Passive protective effect of egg-yolk antibodies against enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli K88\u2009+\u2009infection in neonatal and early-weaned piglets. FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol. 1999;23:283\u20138.","journal-title":"FEMS Immunol Med Microbiol"},{"key":"523_CR14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"17","DOI":"10.1186\/2049-1891-5-17","volume":"5","author":"S Sugiharto","year":"2014","unstructured":"Sugiharto S, Hedemann MS, Lauridsen C. Plasma metabolomic profiles and immune responses of piglets after weaning and challenge with E. coli. J Anim Sci Biotechnol. 2014;5:17.","journal-title":"J Anim Sci Biotechnol"},{"issue":"11","key":"523_CR15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1756","DOI":"10.1017\/S1751731114002687","volume":"9","author":"LR Hancox","year":"2015","unstructured":"Hancox LR, Le Bon M, Richards PJ, Guillou D, Dodd CER, Mellits KH. Effect of a single dose of Saccharomyces cerevisiae var. boulardii on the occurrence of porcine neonatal diarrhoea. Animal. 2015;9(11):1756\u20139.","journal-title":"Animal"},{"key":"523_CR16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"284","DOI":"10.1016\/j.prevetmed.2010.11.014","volume":"98","author":"KS Pedersen","year":"2011","unstructured":"Pedersen KS, Holyoake P, Stege H, Nielsen JP. Observations of variable inter-observer agreement for clinical evaluation of faecal consistency in grow-finishing pigs. Prev Vet Med. 2011;98:284\u20137.","journal-title":"Prev Vet Med"},{"key":"523_CR17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"5","DOI":"10.1186\/s40813-024-00417-2","volume":"11","author":"AM Pons","year":"2025","unstructured":"Pons AM, Gonz\u00e1lez B, Pujols J, Serratosa J, Segal\u00e9s J, G\u00f3mez EA, et al. A proposal of a fecal scoring system based on physicochemical analyses of suckling pig feces. Porcine Health Manage. 2025;11:5.","journal-title":"Porcine Health Manage"},{"key":"523_CR18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"163","DOI":"10.1016\/j.prevetmed.2011.04.014","volume":"100","author":"KS Pedersen","year":"2011","unstructured":"Pedersen KS, Stege H, Nielsen JP. Evaluation of a microwave method for dry matter determination in faecal samples from weaned pigs with or without clinical diarrhoea. Prev Vet Med. 2011;100:163\u201370.","journal-title":"Prev Vet Med"},{"key":"523_CR19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","unstructured":"Eriksen E\u00d8, Nielsen JP, Agerlin MV, Christensen AE, Pedersen KS. Easy and reliable assessment of the prevalence of porcine post-weaning diarrhoea. Prev Vet Med. 2023;220. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/j.prevetmed.2023.106041.","DOI":"10.1016\/j.prevetmed.2023.106041"},{"key":"523_CR20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"31","DOI":"10.1186\/s13028-017-0299-7","volume":"59","author":"M Rhouma","year":"2017","unstructured":"Rhouma M, Fairbrother JM, Beaudry F, Letellier A. Post weaning diarrhea in pigs: Risk factors and non-colistin-based control strategies. Acta Vet Scand. 2017;59:31.","journal-title":"Acta Vet Scand"},{"key":"523_CR21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"54","DOI":"10.1186\/s40813-021-00232-z","volume":"7","author":"E\u00d8 Eriksen","year":"2021","unstructured":"Eriksen E\u00d8, Kudirkiene E, Christensen AE, Agerlin MV, Weber NR, N\u00f8dtvedt A, et al. Post-weaning diarrhea in pigs weaned without medicinal zinc: risk factors, pathogen dynamics, and association to growth rate. Porcine Health Manage. 2021;7:54.","journal-title":"Porcine Health Manage"},{"key":"523_CR22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"16","DOI":"10.1186\/s40813-017-0063-4","volume":"3","author":"A Luppi","year":"2017","unstructured":"Luppi A. Swine enteric colibacillosis: Diagnosis, therapy and antimicrobial resistance. Porcine Health Manage. 2017;3:16.","journal-title":"Porcine Health Manage"},{"key":"523_CR23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"61","DOI":"10.1016\/j.prevetmed.2017.05.009","volume":"143","author":"NR Weber","year":"2017","unstructured":"Weber NR, Nielsen JP, Hjulsager CK, Jorsal SE, Haugegaard S, Hansen CF, et al. Comparison of bacterial culture and qPCR testing of rectal and pen floor samples as diagnostic approaches to detect enterotoxic Escherichia coli in nursery pigs. Prev Vet Med. 2017;143:61\u20137.","journal-title":"Prev Vet Med"},{"key":"523_CR24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"313","DOI":"10.1016\/j.prevetmed.2015.04.015","volume":"120","author":"KS Pedersen","year":"2015","unstructured":"Pedersen KS, Okholm E, Johansen M, Angen \u00d8, Jorsal SE, Nielsen JP, et al. Clinical utility and performance of sock sampling in weaner pig diarrhoea. Prev Vet Med. 2015;120:313\u201320.","journal-title":"Prev Vet Med"},{"key":"523_CR25","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"30","DOI":"10.1186\/s13028-023-00693-y","volume":"65","author":"SA Blirup-Plum","year":"2023","unstructured":"Blirup-Plum SA, Jensen HE, Nielsen SS, Pankoke K, Hansen MS, Pedersen KS, et al. Gastro-intestinal lesions are not relatable to diarrhoea or specific pathogens in post-weaning diarrhoea (PWD) in pigs. Acta Vet Scand. 2023;65:30.","journal-title":"Acta Vet Scand"},{"key":"523_CR26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"26","DOI":"10.1186\/s40813-023-00319-9","volume":"9","author":"K Barington","year":"2023","unstructured":"Barington K, Eriksen E\u00d8, Kudirkiene E, Pankoke K, Hartmann KT, Hansen MS, et al. Lesions and pathogens found in pigs that died during the nursery period in five Danish farms. Porcine Health Manage. 2023;9:26.","journal-title":"Porcine Health Manage"},{"key":"523_CR27","unstructured":"R Core Team. R: A Language and Environment for Statistical Computing. [Internet]. Vienna, Austria: Foundation for Statistical Computing. 2024 [cited 2025 Apr 24]. Available from: https:\/\/www.R-project.org\/"},{"key":"523_CR28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"316","DOI":"10.1016\/B978-0-323-55227-1.00030-2","volume-title":"Cunningham\u2019s Textbook of Veterinary Physiology. Sixth Edition","author":"TH Herdt","year":"2020","unstructured":"Herdt TH. Digestion and Absorption. In: Klein BG, editor. Cunningham\u2019s Textbook of Veterinary Physiology. Sixth Edition. St. Louis (MO): W.B. Saunders; 2020. pp. 316\u201338."},{"key":"523_CR29","unstructured":"Pedersen K, Pedersen K, Stege H, Nielsen J. Diurnal variation of fecal dry matter in pigs. In: D\u2019Allaire S, Friendship R, editors. Proceedings of the 21st International Pig Veterinary Society Congress. Vancouver; 2010. pp. 755\u2013755."},{"key":"523_CR30","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2400","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-021-81783-7","volume":"11","author":"K Matsuda","year":"2021","unstructured":"Matsuda K, Akiyama T, Tsujibe S, Oki K, Gawad A, Fujimoto J. Direct measurement of stool consistency by texture analyzer and calculation of reference value in Belgian general population. Sci Rep. 2021;11:2400.","journal-title":"Sci Rep"},{"issue":"5","key":"523_CR31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"530","DOI":"10.1002\/col.21975","volume":"41","author":"Y Asano","year":"2016","unstructured":"Asano Y, Fairchild MD, Blond\u00e9 L, Morvan P. Color matching experiment for highlighting interobserver variability. Color Res Appl. 2016;41(5):530\u20139.","journal-title":"Color Res Appl"},{"key":"523_CR32","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1073","DOI":"10.3390\/ani10061073","volume":"10","author":"M Wiese","year":"2020","unstructured":"Wiese M, Hui Y, Nielsen DS, Williams AR, Lynegaard JC, Weber NR, et al. Color of colon content of normal and intrauterine growth-restricted weaned piglets is associated with specific microbial taxa and physiological parameters. Animals. 2020;10:1073.","journal-title":"Animals"},{"issue":"2","key":"523_CR33","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"121","DOI":"10.2341\/07-71","volume":"33","author":"SS Meireles","year":"2008","unstructured":"Meireles SS, Demarco FF, dos Santos I, da Dumith S, de Della Bona S. Validation and reliability of visual assessment with a shade guide for tooth-color classification. Oper Dent. 2008;33(2):121\u20136.","journal-title":"Oper Dent"},{"key":"523_CR34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1010","DOI":"10.2527\/2000.7841010x","volume":"78","author":"GM Hill","year":"2000","unstructured":"Hill GM, Cromwell GL, Crenshaw TD, Dove CR, Ewan RC, Knabe DA, et al. Growth promotion effects and plasma changes from feeding high dietary concentrations of zinc and copper to weanling pigs (regional study). J Anim Sci. 2000;78:1010\u20136.","journal-title":"J Anim Sci"}],"container-title":["Porcine Health Management"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1186\/s40813-026-00523-3","content-type":"text\/html","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1186\/s40813-026-00523-3.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1186\/s40813-026-00523-3.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,31]],"date-time":"2026-07-31T18:17:44Z","timestamp":1785521864000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/10.1186\/s40813-026-00523-3"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,26]]},"references-count":34,"journal-issue":{"issue":"1","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,12]]}},"alternative-id":["523"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1186\/s40813-026-00523-3","relation":{},"ISSN":["2055-5660"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2055-5660","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,26]]},"assertion":[{"value":"23 February 2026","order":1,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"11 May 2026","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"26 May 2026","order":3,"name":"first_online","label":"First Online","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"All animal procedures were conducted in accordance with the Danish Animal Experimentation Act and EU Directive 2010\/63\/EU on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes, and were approved by the Danish Animal Inspectorate (License no: 2022-15-0201-01324).","order":1,"name":"Ethics","label":"Ethical approval","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}},{"value":"Not applicable.","order":2,"name":"Ethics","label":"Consent for publication","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}},{"value":"The authors declare no competing interests.","order":3,"name":"Ethics","label":"Competing interests","group":{"name":"EthicsHeading","label":"Declarations"}}],"article-number":"42"}}