[Treatment based on patient's consent: controversies, doubts, ambiguities]

The authors aimed at directing the reader's attention to regulations by law related to the consent to treatment, the form and interpretation of which may induce controversies among clinicians. Among various problems associated with such a vast topic, the authors focused on the issue of the so called "printed form consent", commonly practiced, but legally groundless in view of the legal regulations in force. The report also presented selected aspects of obtaining consent to treatment of a juvenile patient, specifying and discussing unclear and doubtful situations. Another topic stressed in the paper involved treatment executed in the absence of consent or when preferences of the patient are unknown, particularly in emergencies. Finally, selected aspects of compulsory procedures were presented, in particular the principles of compulsory examination of a patient in penal proceedings and the use of constraint in the emergency detoxification centers.