Which infection-control measure has a LOW initial implementation cost but a HIGH ongoing maintenance cost?

Correct answer: A. Personal protective equipment

• A. CORRECT. PPE — gloves, masks, gowns, eyewear — requires almost no capital outlay to begin using, but it is consumed with every patient and must be continually repurchased, making its cumulative operating cost over the life of a practice substantial. It also sits at the BOTTOM of the hierarchy of controls, because it protects only the individual wearing it and depends entirely on correct, consistent use.
• B. Ventilation systems are a large capital installation with periodic filter and service costs.
• C. Safety-engineered devices carry a meaningful per-unit premium but are an engineering control that reduces risk at the source.
• D. An autoclave is the opposite pattern: a high capital purchase price with relatively modest ongoing cost (spore tests, maintenance, distilled water).

Note: Hierarchy of controls (most to least effective): elimination, substitution, engineering controls, administrative controls, PPE.