The nurse should encourage patients with Paget's disease to maintain which dietary intake?

X-ray imaging is commonly used to confirm the diagnosis of Paget's disease. X-rays can show characteristic bone changes, such as bone enlargement, thickening, and deformities, which are indicative of Paget's disease.

a. Bone density scan: While bone density scans may be useful to assess bone health in other conditions, they are not the primary diagnostic tool for Paget's disease. X-rays are preferred.

b. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): MRI may provide detailed images of bones and surrounding soft tissues, but it is not the first-line diagnostic test for Paget's disease. X-rays are more commonly used.

d. Blood glucose test: A blood glucose test is used to diagnose and monitor diabetes, not Paget's disease. These conditions are unrelated.

The underlying pathophysiology of Paget's disease involves increased bone turnover and disordered bone remodeling. Osteoclasts, the bone-resorbing cells, become overactive, leading to excessive bone resorption. Osteoblasts, the bone-forming cells, attempt to repair the resorbed bone, but their activity is disordered, resulting in the formation of structurally abnormal bone.

a. Decreased bone density due to calcium deficiency: This is the pathophysiology of osteoporosis, not Paget's disease. In Paget's disease, bone density can be normal or increased due to the disordered bone remodeling.

c. Excessive collagen production leading to bone deformities: Excessive collagen production is not a characteristic feature of Paget's disease. The condition primarily involves abnormal bone remodeling by osteoclasts and osteoblasts.

d. Autoimmune attack on osteoblasts causing bone destruction: Paget's disease is not an autoimmune disorder. The disease is characterized by increased bone resorption and disordered bone formation, not an immune-mediated attack on osteoblasts.