[The practice guideline 'Anemia' from the Dutch College of General Practitioners; a response from the perspective of internal medicine].

Anaemia is a prevalent condition that becomes more common with age. The Dutch College of General Practitioners has issued a guideline entitled 'Anaemia' which is aimed at standardizing the diagnostic approach to the anaemic patient. Much attention is paid to iron deficiency anaemia and anaemia accompanying chronic disease. The guideline stresses the need for careful analysis of iron deficiency, especially in the elderly. Unfortunately, the proposed algorithm is incomplete and not unequivocal. This will hamper its application in daily practice.