[Anemia in the elderly. Urgent need for guidelines].

The prevalence of anemia in the elderly is high and can reach among independent community-dwelling persons > 20% and among hospitalized geriatric patients up to 40%. Anemia in the elderly has numerous causes rather than being clearly age related. Although it is widely acknowledged that anemia influences morbidity and mortality in geriatric patients in a negative manner, guidelines concerning diagnostics and therapeutic steps do not exist in Germany. We present a work-up of guidelines of German (AWMF) and international (G-I-N, NGC) specialists' societies dealing with the subject "anemia." Regarding the demographic changes with a growing population of geriatric patients with anemia, the development of a national (German) guideline for an ethically acceptable and cost-effective management of anemia in the elderly is necessary.