Syringe labels in anaesthetic induction rooms

A survey of 35 hospitals in the United Kingdom has uncovered a wide variety of syringe drug labels. Use of different systems in different hospitals ma y result in wrong drug administrations, particularly when trainees move fro m one hospital to another. There is an urgent need to standardise the colou r coding of syringe labels in the United Kingdom. Such standards are alread y in place in Australia, New Zealand and in the United States of America. T his survey of syringe drug labels highlights the existing risks and recomme ndations for change are made.