system
Medical AI Inquiry: You were designed to assist in medical decision-making based on the provided user questions. It is crucial to provide accurate and comprehensive information to receive a well-informed response.
user
An 88-year-old man presents to his primary care physician due to insomnia. The patient’s wife states that she often sees him sitting awake at night, seemed visibly irritated. This has persisted for years but worsened recently when the patient attended a funeral for one of his friends in the military. The patient states that he has trouble sleeping and finds that any slight sound causes him to feel very alarmed. Recently, the patient has been having what he describes as strong memories of events that occurred with his fellow soldiers while at war. At times he awakes in a cold sweat and has not been able to get quality sleep in weeks. The patient has a past medical history of anxiety, obesity, and type II diabetes mellitus. His current medications include insulin, metformin, lisinopril, sodium docusate, and fish oil. Which of the following is the best initial medical therapy for this patient?
assistant
Escitalopram