ABSTRACT.Purpose: The aims of this paper are to point out the importance of coherence in established guidelines in daily practice, highlight the value of signed patient informed consent forms and stress the value of a good understanding of the law, while focusing on issues related to malpractice in ophthalmology. Methods: Search of the current relevant literature. Results: The most common causes of medical litigation in ophthalmology are related to LASIK surgery, cataract surgery, glaucoma care, radial keratotomy for myopia reduction and failure to diagnose binocular vision anomalies in children and adults in a timely fashion. The litigation raised in most cases is driven by unfavourable outcomes and not by malpractice. Conclusion: Maintenance of high standards in daily practice, with continuous training and clear communication along with the appropriate documentation of any procedure carried out, may improve the professional safety of practising eye specialists in the event of medical litigation. Although the use of patient informed consent varies substantially among European countries, it may serve as useful evidence in the physician's defence.

Hippocratic Oath indicates a prevailing ethos rather than a professional approach, and it is still regarded as the cornerstone and foundation of the medical profession. Medicine in Ancient Greece was strongly influenced by the values of classical philosophy as introduced by its main representatives: Plato and Aristotle. Hippocrates himself has been recognized not only as a pioneering physician, but also as an outstanding philosopher. In his writings, he claimed that "the physician must insert wisdom in medicine" and denounced the technocratic aspect of the medical profession. The Hippocratic Oath constitutes a synopsis of the moral code of Ancient Greek medicine and contributes to the stabilization of the tri-part relationship among the physician, the patient, and the illness, as described by Hippocrates. The harmony of this interactive triangle has been deranged by several factors, such as technological evolution, public media, and cost-effective modalities with multiple consequences. In these terms, the reevaluation of the Hippocratic Oath and its time-enduring messages seems essential to reinstate the relationship between the physician and the patient under a new philosophico-medical prism.

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In our population, arrhythmia was the most common cause of sudden cardiac death, while acute coronary thrombi and acute myocardial infarction were detected only in some cases. Because of the heterogeneity in the cause of sudden cardiac deaths in adults, a detailed forensic investigation may provide important information on the cause of death and help in the development of primary and secondary prevention.

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