Preantibiotic

Preantibiotic refers to the period, practices, or conditions that existed before the discovery and widespread clinical use of antibiotics. In medical history, the term describes approaches to infectious disease management prior to antimicrobial agents, roughly before the 1940s when penicillin and other antibiotics became available.

During the preantibiotic era, treatment relied on antiseptics and aseptic techniques, supportive care, surgical drainage, wound management, vaccination, and public health measures such as improved sanitation and quarantine. Public health advances, including clean water, sewage systems, vaccination programs, and better nutrition, helped reduce the burden of infectious disease even before antibiotics were introduced. Mortality from bacterial infections like pneumonia, sepsis, wound infections, and tuberculosis was higher due to the absence of targeted antimicrobial therapies.

The term is commonly used in historical or comparative contexts to illustrate how the introduction of antibiotics transformed medicine, enabling shorter illnesses, lower mortality, and altered approaches in surgery and clinical care. The antibiotic era also brought new challenges, including the rise of antimicrobial resistance and the need for stewardship, issues that emerged with widespread antibiotic use. Today, preantibiotic is primarily a historical descriptor used to frame discussions about infectious disease management before antimicrobial therapy became available.