Airway clearance techniques are the mainstay in treatment of patients with bronchiectasis. The objective of the study was to compare the efficacy of autogenic drainage versus acapella in patients with bronchiectasis. A total of thirty patients with stable bronchiectasis were recruited from National Institute of Tuberculosis and Respiratory Diseases and Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital, New Delhi. Patients were administered acapella or autogenic drainage clearance technique in a random order and the other technique was given to the patient after a wash out period of 3 hours. All patients were compared at baseline, immediate and 10 minutes after intervention for the outcome measures (sputum volume, sputum wet weight, modified Borg's Scale for dyspnea, respiratory rate, oxygen saturation, peak expiratory flow rate). Visual analogue scale (VAS) was used to measure the patients' perception of comfort of performing either of the technique. Sputum wet weight and volume, dyspnea, oxygen saturation; peak expiratory flow did not show statistically significant difference between the two treatment techniques. VAS score comparison for comfort showed a statistically significant difference with the majority of patients reporting comfort in performing acapella. Acapella was found to be equally effective as autogenic drainage in sputum clearance in patients with bronchiectasis.

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