Severe diarrhea in children may be linked to antibiotics prescribed in doctors' offices, according to a recent study HealthDay reported.

Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 71 percent of pediatric Clostridium difficile infections in children aged 1 to 17 occurred among children in the general community who recently took antibiotics prescribed in doctor's offices for other conditions, HealthDay reported.  

Pediatric C. difficile infections are bacterial infections that cause severe diarrhea and are potentially life-threatening.

"Improved antibiotic prescribing is critical to protect the health of our nation's children," CDC Director Tom Frieden, said in a statement.  "When antibiotics are prescribed incorrectly, our children are needlessly put at risk for health problems including C. difficile infection and dangerous antibiotic resistant infections."

Based on their findings, researchers found that 73 percent of the children with C. difficile infection were prescribed antibiotics during the 12 weeks prior to their illness, usually in an outpatient setting such as a doctor's office. Most of the children who received antibiotics were being treated for ear, sinus, or upper respiratory infections.

Previous studies show that at least 50 percent of antibiotics prescribed in doctor's offices for children are for respiratory infections, most of which do not require antibiotics.

Although the study showed an association between antibiotic use and C. difficile infections, it did not prove a cause-and-effect link, HealthDay reported.

Researchers said taking antibiotics is the most important risk factor for developing C. difficile infections for both adults and children. 

"When a person takes antibiotics, beneficial bacteria that protect against infection can be altered or even eliminated for several weeks to months," researchers said in a statement. "During this time, patients can get sick from C. difficile picked up from contaminated surfaces or spread from a health care provider's hands."

The study was recently published online in the journal Pediatrics.