The accuracy of mean corpuscular volume guided anaemia classification in primary care.

Background: Anemia can be categorized into micro-, normo- or macrocytic anemia based on the mean corpuscular volume (MCV). This categorization might help to define the etiology of anemia.

Methods: The cohort consisted of patients newly diagnosed with anaemia in primary care.

Preventing overuse of laboratory diagnostics: a case study into diagnosing anaemia in Dutch general practice.

Background: More information is often thought to improve medical decision-making, which may lead to test overuse. This study assesses which out of 15 laboratory tests contribute to diagnosing the underlying cause of anaemia by general practitioners (GPs) and determines a potentially more efficient subset of tests for setting the correct diagnosis.

Methods: Logistic regression was performed to determine the impact of individual tests on the (correct) diagnosis.

Long-term outcomes in patients newly diagnosed with iron deficiency anaemia in general practice: a retrospective cohort study.

Objectives: To describe all iron deficiency anaemia (IDA)-related causes during follow-up of patients newly diagnosed with IDA and to assess whether a delayed colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnosis influences survival.

Design And Setting: Retrospective cohort study of patients from general practices in the Dordrecht area, the Netherlands.

Participants: Men and women aged ≥50 years with a new diagnosis of IDA (ie, no anaemia 2 years previously).

Diagnostics in anaemia of chronic disease in general practice: a real-world retrospective cohort study.

Background: Limited research has been performed that focused on the diagnosis of the underlying cause of anaemia of chronic disease (ACD) in general practice or on prevalence data of the underlying causes of ACD in general practice, although this is one of the most common types of anaemia.

Aim: To clarify the diagnostic strategies of GPs in patients newly diagnosed with ACD and to determine the most common underlying causes.

Design & Setting: Retrospective cohort study.

Assessing the cost-effectiveness of a routine versus an extensive laboratory work-up in the diagnosis of anaemia in Dutch general practice.

Background Establishing the underlying cause of anaemia in general practice is a diagnostic challenge. Currently, general practitioners individually determine which laboratory tests to request (routine work-up) in order to diagnose the underlying cause. However, an extensive work-up (consisting of 14 tests) increases the proportion of patients correctly diagnosed.

The effectiveness of a routine versus an extensive laboratory analysis in the diagnosis of anaemia in general practice.

Background We investigated the percentage of patients diagnosed with the correct underlying cause of anaemia by general practitioners when using an extensive versus a routine laboratory work-up. Methods An online survey was distributed among 836 general practitioners. The survey consisted of six cases, selected from an existing cohort of anaemia patients ( n = 3325).