Aim To emphasize the importance of early recognition, diagnostic processing and emergent surgical treatment of spontaneous spinal epidural hematoma (SSEH). Methods A 39-year-old female presented with sudden onset of severe pain between the shoulder blades followed by paraparesis and alerted sensibility in the lower extremities. An hour later she developed paraplegia with sensory deficits below ThIV level, absence of patellar reflex, ankle jerk reflex and sphincter dysfunction. Results Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated acute extensive epidural mass of thoracic spinal segments (ThI-ThIII). The patient underwent emergent decompressive laminectomy ThI-ThIII with epidural hematoma evacuation within 24 hours of symptoms onset. After the surgical treatment, because of suspicion on spinal arteriovenous malformation, complete diagnostic evaluation with spinal angiography was done and no form of vascular malformation was found. Idiopathic SSEH was diagnosed. Two months later the patient reached complete neurological improvement. Conclusion The SSEH is a rare condition that should be kept in mind in patients presenting with neurological deficit and a sudden onset of back pain like it was in our case. For early diagnosis, immediate MRI is essential. Prompt surgical decompression such as laminectomy is an absolute surgical indication widely accepted for patients with progressive neurological deficit. The SSEH should be considered as one of the important differential diagnoses in patients who have developed acute myelopathy.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST: NONE DECLARED Day Hospital is an alternative to inpatient treatment as a transition from hospital to outpatient type of treatment, especially for those patients who cannot quickly return to the family, and patients who are unable to leave the usual social contacts so to them the hospitalization will pose a great mental risk. The aim of the research is to determine the structure of psychiatric morbidity, as well as demographic features and duration of hospitalization in patients treated at a Day Hospital of Psychiatric Clinic in Sarajevo during the period 2006-2007. The survey is conducted at the Psychiatric Clinic, Clinical Center of Sarajevo University as retrospective, based on observations of certain variables (gender, age, hospitalization duration), and the number of diagnosis. The results of the research show that the total number of registered patients in the observed period is 400. During the two year study there were more female (61.3%) than male patients (38.7%). Also, during the two years of research, most of those were with one diagnosis. The average hospitalization duration was 45 days, and the most often hospitalization duration was from 1 to 3 months. During both years, mostly present was the population in age group 46 to 65 years, followed by age group 26 to 44 years. Leading diseases during both years of research were from the group F30-F39, and the most common co-morbid diseases from groups: F30-F39, F40-F49 and F60-F69. We can conclude that Day Hospital has great significance in the mental health prevention. Daily structured program provides hospital diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of persons of both genders from different age groups and with diverse psychopathology.