SUMMARY
A 11-year retrospective study was performed to determine the causes of death among 31 hospitalized patients admitted at the Division of Ophthalmology University Hospital, School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, who died from January 1979 to December 1989. Twenty-eight of 31 were submitted to autopsy (90,3%) and 19 or 61,3% died after being transfered to a nother Division. In 10 of these patients the ophthaltmic admission was not contributory to death. there were 6 patients in whom death might have been ascribed to ophthalmic admission for surgery. The other 15 patients died either of cancer or of its direct consequences.