Which of the following statements about evaluating patients in pain is true?

A) The best judge of the existence of pain is the nurse.
B) Visible signs always accompany pain.
C) Patients often are hesitant to report pain.
D) Nonpharmacological interventions are better than pain medications.

Patients often are hesitant to report pain for fear of being labeled as complainers,hypochondriacs,or addicts.The patient's self-report is the most reliable indicator of the existence and intensity of pain.Even with severe pain,periods of physiological and behavioral adaptation occur,leading to periods of minimal or no observable signs of pain.Lack of pain expression does not necessarily mean lack of pain.Nonpharmacological interventions are synergistic with medications,but are not a substitute for pharmacological management of pain.